Clariant Aviation, a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of aircraft and runway de-icing and anti-icing products, was at inter airport in Munich this October to show how ready it is for the coming winter season
Significantly, given the time of year, Clariant is adding to its distribution capability. “Logistics plays a vital role in getting the right products to customers at the right time,” explains head of aviation (sales) Nigel Westlake, and having taken on some new customers this year the company is improving its European distribution network. For example, it is opening two new depots on the Continent – one at Birrfeld in Switzerland to serve a new Swiss client, and another in Rotterdam to serve new clients in the Netherlands and in Brussels.
Clariant is also expanding its product range. The latest offering is MP IV Launch Plus, a new propylene glycol-based fluid that can be applied hot or cold, neat or diluted. It recently received certification and is only now being marketed by Clariant as a further addition to its Safewing range of fluids; it will be fully “commercialised” for winter 2014-15, Westlake comments.
MP IV Launch Plus’s main advantages over other fluids are its “outstanding holdover times” which offer an extra safety margin and further operational flexibility during busy winter operations, and a lower toxicity, which means an improved environmental profile.
“It’s all about small improvements” in terms of minimising the environmental impact of anti/de-icing fluid, he notes. Right now, anti/de-icing fluids are propylene glycol-based and they inevitably have an effect on the environment. Thus, for a supplier like Clariant, it’s all about making the additive pack as free of damaging chemicals as possible and, says Westlake, “We are always making the incremental changes to be the very best we can.”
