A hundred-year balance Annual Report 2010 - Uzin Utz AG

stone are convincing above all for the very fast crystalline
water bonding, and therefore provide genuine stability
of form and high colour-fastness of the jointed natural
stone covering. In comparison to existing products
on the market, the new developments also demonstrate
the advantage of optimum flank adhesion, combined
with the perfect balance between hardness and flexibility,
so that even with unfavourable joint geometries
and natural stone tile dimensions, no cracks can form.
In parallel with these development activities, extensive
tests were carried out in order to achieve the best possible
classification of CG 2 WA to DIN EN 13888. The
CG 2 WA classification stands for the fulfilment of the
highest possible strength requirement, the lowest possible
water absorption (W) and the highest abrasion
resistance class (A) in this product group. The further
activities of the dry mortar specialists focused on the
completion of the natural stone range, and the objective
of providing a quick-hardening, white, cement-based
special medium-bed mortar ready for market launch in
2011. With the product codex Stone SX 60 MB, whose
development was largely completed in 2010, sensitive
natural stone coverings can now be laid reliably and without
discoloration. This product also stands out for its
accelerated setting, which holds the water in the mortar
by means of fast crystal formation, without giving it off
to the natural stone. Thanks to the use of special white
cements, the product can also be used for light, translucent
natural stones. As one of the few laying material
manufacturers for tiles and natural stone, codex recognised
the trend towards very low-emission and therefore
healthy living products at an early stage, and formulated
the new codex product line “ecoTec”, which also includes
the newly developed products of codex Brillant cristal
and codex Stone SX 60 MB. These comply with the best
possible emission requirement class Emicode EC 1 R Plus.
b) Reduced-dust dry mortar products
The specialist department of Dry Mortar Development
has succeeded in comprehensively assessing the structural
and effect principle of suitable fluid dust-removal
additives. The high-quality results obtained from this
work were used for the development of a reduced-dust,
self-levelling cement levelling compound prototype for
the market segment UZIN, and for the development of
the reduced-dust thin-bed mortar codex Power CX 5.
The product codex Power CX 5 demonstrates particu-
larly favourable application properties in comparison to
normal reduced-dust products on the market. Particular
properties which should be mentioned include the outstanding
non-slip characteristics, even when using large-format
tiles, smooth working without standing time
and the particularly long open time. Work safety is also
greatly improved with regard to dust reduction by means
of the special formulation used. Due to the new, innovative
and advanced formulation, with up to 90% less
dust reduction during mixing, codex Power CX 5 is one
of the absolute top products amongst low-dust, thinbed
mortars on the market.
c) Low-slump levelling compounds
With the market launch of the new Level Plus Effect generation
in 2008, Uzin Utz AG set new standards in the
area of “self-levelling compounds”, impressively demonstrating
its position as the technology leader. The last gap
in the levelling compound sector is now being closed with
the optimisation of the low-slump, cement-based levelling
compound UZIN NC 182. Although the existing product
was voted one of the most popular “low-slump levelling
compounds” in the survey, the specialist department of
Dry Mortar Development has improved the formulation
even further. True to the motto “making the best lowslump
levelling compound even better”, the powder specialists
succeeded in providing the new product with accelerated
hardening, both at low application temperatures
and high layer thicknesses. At the same time, the formulation
was also change slightly in order to improve the
modelling capability and the surface finish. The requirements
have also been created to enable us to advertise
in future with the most prestigious eco-labels, and the
best known in Germany, such as the Blue Angel and Emicode
EC 1 R Plus. The new product also guarantees a better
composite adhesion of the adhesive on the compound
layer in the case of direct upper covering application. Two
new low-slump, cement-based levelling compounds were
also developed for the Scandinavian market. UZIN NC
181 and UZIN NC 184 can be applied to various substrates
without priming, and are ready for laying after only
one hour. Both new products meet the highest emission
requirements of Emicode EC 1 R Plus and their application
consistency can be varied by individual water dosing.
d) Support of the locations in Soissons and Legnica
A further focus of activities at the headquarters in 2010
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