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ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products
ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products
What followed was a three-year development process involving four partners across Europe. The result is XBake – a range of sustainable bakeware with a brand-new, non-stick coating that is free of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Guardini’s journey began when customers started asking about the level of recycled content in the company’s bakeware. “XCarb® gave us the edge,” explains Marco Guardini, Managing Director of Guardini. “We could openly and reliably tell our customers that the steel was sustainably produced. Our calculations show that by using ArcelorMittal steel with XCarb® green steel certificates, we are reducing the CO2 impact of our products. That’s very significant and has attracted significant interest from our customers.”
Marco Guardini, Managing Director of Guardini
To prepare for potential PFAS restrictions in EU and the U.S. Guardini wanted to apply a non-stick coating which is PFAS-free to offer their customers a solution ahead of time. Both the European Union and the USA are taking steps to consider a ban of these PFAS chemicals in various consumer applications, including bakeware and cookware. Guardini turned to ILAG – a Swiss-based producer of coatings – to develop a completely new non-stick coating.
Florian Pick, Chief Sales Officer for ILAG
Bakeware posed some unique challenges notes Florian Pick, Chief Sales Officer for ILAG: “Firstly, we needed to develop a new functional base for the non-stick coating which could withstand the pressing operations used to form the bakeware. Another challenge was getting the coating thickness correct on a high-speed coil coating line.”
Kevin Tranter, Managing Director of CCC
Testing and applying the new coating was the job of Cooper Coated Coil (CCC). “Guardini needs to be able to press the steel without affecting the coating,” says Kevin Tranter, Managing Director of CCC. “And we need to be able to apply it evenly to the coil at high speed.”
The key to the success of the project has been the very close collaboration between the four companies involved, notes Marco Guardini: “Clear and fast feedback between ArcelorMittal, ILAG, CCC, and Guardini ensured the success of the project. Now XBake is available to home cooks around the world.”
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