Frost & Sullivan Applauds Merck for Staying Ahead of the Changing Colour and Texture Trends in the Automotive OEM Pigments Market with its Meoxal® and Xirallic® NXT Lines
- Merck achieves fast market penetration with new aluminium-based Meoxal® product line
- Market leadership with aluminium oxide-based pigments confirmed with new Xirallic® NXT line
LONDON, June 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pigments market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Merck with the 2016 European Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Leadership. Merck's Meoxal® and Xirallic® NXT lines are redefining trends in the automotive pigments market by creating new colours and textures for automotive OEMs. Its strict adherence to regulatory standards and global manufacturing guidelines has resulted in the best-performing automotive pigments in the market.
"Most automotive pigment manufacturers only offer effect pigments based on two major groups – pure pearlescent pigments or aluminium-based metal flakes. Merck, on the other hand, combines these two distinctive technologies to achieve unparalleled effects," said Vinay Venkatesan, Senior Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Its Meoxal® range of luminous metal effect pigments is the latest innovation in effect pigments, merging the advantages of both pigment groups: pearlescent and metallic effect. This has expanded Merck's color palette to offer distinctive colors and textures to the market."
Within the Meoxal® product range, Merck has introduced three exceptional colors: Wahiba Orange, Taklamakan Gold and Atacama Red. These colors have outstanding color saturation and strong flop behavior, which makes them ideal for all automotive applications, especially water-borne coating systems. Meoxal® Wahiba Orange possesses a striking orange metallic look and therefore occupies a unique color position in comparison with other aluminium-based effect pigments. Meoxal® Taklamakan Gold allows formulators to produce a wide range of colors, from yellow to green hues. It can further be combined with other pigments to access a broader color space. Meoxal® Atacama Red, the third aluminium-based effect pigment in the series, stands out for its color intensity, high saturation and brilliance. It is thus predestinated for use in both deep rich red and warm brown stylings. With the Meoxal® product range is it possible to cover a broad range of stylings from golden, vibrant red, and deep rich red up to green hues.
Merck has closely analyzed market needs by surveying its customer base and conducting internal research. The Xirallic® NXT line was ultimately developed and launched in 2014. One of its main products, the Xirallic® NXT Panthera Silver, is an advanced pigment with strong flop behaviour, clarity, and depth in coatings with the distinct Living-Sparkle effect of the Xirallic® family. Merck followed it with Xirallic® NXT Leonis Gold. This pigment stands out for its color saturation and the strongest Living-Sparkle effect within the Xirallic® product family. Its youngest member is Xirallic® NXT Tigris Blue, which captures light in an incomparable way, adding an impressive depth to dark blue and elegant black stylings.
"We are delighted with this prize," said Michael Heckmeier, Head of Pigments & Functional Materials at Merck, after the award ceremony. "It recognizes our market leadership in automotive coating with our Meoxal® and Xirallic® NXT lines and at the same time acknowledges our constant efforts to always serve our customers and the market best with advanced pigments." Looking ahead, he remarked, "We see this award as a further incentive to keep on pursuing new approaches. There is more to come: The market can expect more innovative pigments for a wide variety of applications and segments."
Its efforts to consistently introduce products in line with the significant demand for new colours and textures has prompted Merck to ensure proactive coordination between its global and regional marketing teams as well as its R&D and technical service team.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality, gaining rapid acceptance in the market. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About Merck
Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials based in Darmstadt, Germany. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life – from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck generated sales of € 12.85 billion in 66 countries.
Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck, holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.
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