Management of Technology and Innovation in Japan

The Customer System and New Product Development 77
Case Study – Development of LUMIFLON at AGC 2
Product Feature
In 1982, AGC developed and commercialized the first soluble fluoropolymer for
coatings called LUMIFLON 3 . In general, coatings are composed of four basic
elements: polymer, pigments, solvent, and additive. Especially the polymer has a
strong impact on the specifications of coatings (weather resistance, gloss retention,
adhesiveness, flexibility, transparency, etc.).
LUMIFLON offers some excellent features such as a superior weather resistance
and durability compared to existing coatings’ polymers such as acrylic silicon,
and has been applied in wide markets, i.e., large-scale buildings, bridges,
cars, airplanes, and plants since it was introduced to the market.
LUMIFLON is now used in about 80% of all cases as fluoropolymer for coatings
except for those, which need to be applied at high temperatures in factories
for example. And it recorded 15000 usages for about 20years since entering the
market.
Development of LUMIFLON
In 1975, the development of LUMIFLON began. At that time the buildings in Japan,
were planned to be built ever higher, and concerns about the long-term maintenance
of these building rose. But the existing coatings for the exterior of these
buildings needed frequent repainting because of low durability. AGC expected
high potential demand for durable coatings, and started to develop a soluble
fluoropolymer for coatings.
At AGC’s Yokohama Laboratory, the synthetic research team consisting of 3 or
4 members was formed, and research of fluoropolymers for coatings started. At
that time, another fluoropolymer for coatings already existed, but it wasn’t soluble
well and needed to be applied in factories at high temperatures. Therefore, the
goal was set to develop a highly durable coating that could also be applied to
large-scale buildings.
After five years of experimentation, a prototype of this polymer was developed.
The new fluoropolymer obtained was named LUMIFLON (LF). As a result of
having promoted LUMIFLON, AGC had come to develop a new coating jointly
with three coating manufacturers. At AGC, the LF-team consisting of 15 members
from the synthetic research team, the applied research team, and the process development
team cooperated with the other coating manufacturers in the joint de-
2 Details of the case are discussed by Tomita (2003b).
3 LUMIFLON is the brand name, and the formal chemical name of this polymer is
Fluoroethylene-Alkyl Vinyl Ether (FEVE). At that time, another fluoropolymer for
coatings already existed, but it wasn’t soluble in a solvent well and needed to be applied
in factories at high temperatures. Therefore, a highly durable coating that could also be
used for large-scale buildings didn’t exist.