Archroma launches Fadex® AS New, a “super UV protector” to make automotive and transportation textiles even more resistant to light

During the long life span of cars and other transport vehicles, some of their components, such as the polyester trims of doors and pillars, seat covers, carpet flooring or head lining, are exposed to high levels of sunlight and UV rays. This intense light and heat often cause fabric color to fade more quickly and polyester fiber to weaken, making the car interior look older. The light fastness requirements specified by motor vehicle manufacturers are therefore extremely high, and only carefully selected products can meet them.

Archroma developed Fadex^® AS New to address this challenge, providing textile manufacturers serving the automotive industry with a new, advanced light fastness improver, especially when used in Archroma’s LIGHT FAST CAR system with its Dorospers^® A & K high-light-fast dyes.

The new “super UV protector” was presented at the recent Techtextil exhibition on 15 May 2019.

Fadex^® AS New was developed in compliance with “The Archroma Way: safe, efficient, enhanced, it’s our nature”. The approach finds its origin in Archroma’s deep belief that it is possible to make the textile industry sustainable. With the LIGHT FAST CAR system based on Fadex^® AS New, Dorospers^® A & K dyes and alkaline buffer Lyocol^® ELD liq. New, manufacturers can achieve more “efficient” processing, including: a substantial reduction in water and energy consumption, reduced CO₂ emissions, shorter process time, less rewinding and fiber breakage, and optimized and efficient process in all stages.

Taking light fastness to new heights, the unique combination of Fadex^® AS New and Dorospers A & K dyes allows to meet the high light fastness requirements of automotive car producers. Fadex^® AS New also allows maintaining the tear strength of the polyester fiber.

Fadex^® AS New displays low fogging. It is suitable for exhaust, continuous and printing processes, and especially recommended for the Thermosol dyeing process of seat belt fabrics.

Fadex^® AS New and Dorospers A & K dyes can be used together with Archroma’s water repellent, soil release, anti-microbial, flame retardant and high abrasion resistance functional finishing solutions, offering a complete system package to help textile manufacturers differentiate themselves in the highly competitive automotive market.

Fadex^® AS New meets the requirement of the automotive industry VDA 278 test and is registered under REACH.

“Fadex^® AS New is the first innovation to be introduced by Archroma’s new Global Competence Center for Automotive and Synthetic Dyeing which was inaugurated on 6 May 2019”, comments Mark Dohmen, Head of the Global Competence Center for Automotive and Synthetic Dyeing, Archroma, “and the whole team there is proud to continue the long Archroma history of bringing innovation to textile manufacturers and enhanced function and aesthetics to end-users.”