UFlex secures patent of Epoxy Ester Resin; first ever in India

The chemicals business of UFlex Limited has secured a patent on 'A process for the preparation of Epoxy Ester Resin' in accordance with the provisions of the Patents Act, 1970. This is the first-ever patent for chemicals business in India and it will be considering applying for a global patent in due course of time. 

This new patent will ensure technical advancement in providing a process for resin preparation wherein no wastewater treatment is required. Furthermore, Epoxy Ester Resin prepared by this process will be used in radiation or energy curing. As a result of this, curing will be faster, unlike the typical Epoxy Ester resin, which is thermally cured but takes a long time besides being uneconomical. 

With enhanced stability of the coating and its chemical resistance attributes, a total of 16 claims have been taken under this patent. 

Epoxy Ester resins are known for their use in coatings, paints, and adhesives. Before this patent was registered, conventionally, Epoxy Ester resin was produced in a two-stage process. However, UFlex' newly-invented and patented approach arrests the challenges posed in a conventional method as the Epoxy ester produced has no wastewater generation, no odour and neither a dark colour, which is good for fast curing coatings with efficient cost-effective processing. Epoxy Resins are gaining supremacy over the conventional use of Vinyl Esters and polyesters in the flexible packaging industry as well as in offset printing areas. 

UFlex' chemicals business is a leading manufacturer of flexible packaging inks, coatings and adhesives for flexible packaging, cartons, labels, and paperboard. 

On Monday, the stock of UFlex was trading 1.9 per cent higher at Rs 380 from its previous close of Rs 372.80.