“We at Dürr are very proud of the almost 20-strong team, which has been putting great effort and dedication into this invention since 2008. The innovative strength of our employees is the basis for our company’s success,” says Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr AG. “The EcoPaintJet Pro reflects a key focus in our development work: sustainability.”
Waste-free car-body painting
Aside from saving on paint, the invention can also lead to substantial improvements in the sustainability of custom paint applications: The EcoPaintJet Pro dispenses with the need for covering the rest of the car body with film prior to applying a second color — e.g. for a different-colored roof. In a standard production line that paints 110,000 car bodies per year, this saves more than 1.5 million square meters of film and 2.2 million meters of masking tape every year plus a lot of manual work. Another advantage is that the new process requires up to 30% less energy than the conventional method.
The European Inventor Award is one of Europe’s most renowned innovation awards. It was launched by the European Patent Office in 2006. An independent jury, which consists of former award finalists, chose the winners and finalists. Inventors from 12 countries were represented in the final round.
Multiple award-winner
The EcoPaintJet Pro is an innovation that has already won several awards in Germany and abroad, including the German Innovation Award. This list of awards now also includes the Surface Technology Prize presented today by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation.