SABIC and Sadepan – Shaping our futures
Based in Italy, Sadepan Chimica, part of the Gruppo Mauro Saviola, has been SABIC's largest melamine customer in Europe for over twenty years, since the start up of the melamine plant at SAFCO (Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia in 1983. As such, Sadepan is one of SABIC's oldest customers, and a strong working relationship has been built up between the two companies.
As well as melamine, Sadepan also buys methanol and ethylene glycol from SABIC and in the near future urea might be added to their order as well. This means that SABIC will eventually supply all major raw materials for Sadepan's production of wood glues and resins, panels, wooden floors and furniture.
Excellent relationship
Sadepan plays a leading role in the European resin and glue market and the company's philosophy fits perfectly with that of SABIC's. For both companies, safety, health and environment are top priorities. The fact that Sadepan is a family business adds another special dimension to the relationship with SABIC. At SABIC we take great pride in our excellent customer relationships based on personal contact and mutual trust. That trust is especially important for those customers who buy SABIC products which are not produced locally, as is the case with Sadepan Chimica.
Sadepan saves the environment
Protecting the environment is a key priority for Sadepan. The company only works with waste wood supplied from the building trade Europe-wide. On arrival, the wood is still covered in paint residues and full of nails. Each day around 250 lorry loads are processed, which involves sorting, cleaning, grinding and pressing. The company not only saves the environment by saving forests but also, as Sadepan completely replaces phenol, which is toxic, with SABIC® melamine, the production process is also much more environmentally friendly.
Wear-resistant, water-repellent and fire-retardant
Among other materials, Sadepan uses SABIC® melamine as a glue component in its wood pressing process. This is how chipboard, multiplex and MDF are produced. The company also uses melamine as a resin in top coatings to make wood wear-resistant. This is especially important in the (click) laminate produced by Sadepan. During the process a thin layer of paper with (any desired) print is fixed onto the wood using wood glue. The SABIC® melamine in the top coating gives the wood strength, protects it against scratches and makes it water-repellent, as well as acting as an additional fire retardant.
Sadepan produces a variety of pre-fabricated flat pack furniture kits and is consequently a major supplier to Ikea.
Own design
The SABIC® melamine-based glues and resins which are not used by Sadepan itself are sold on. As well as their application in the wood processing industry (the biggest buyer consumer of melamine), these melamine-based products can also be used for impregnating paper and textiles and are also the basic raw material for childrens' or camping dinnerware.
SABIC and Sadepan - working together to shape our futures - naturall
