Decorative Lead-free Colors for “Robax”

SCHOTT offers new design options for fireplace viewing panels

Mainz (Germany) / Verona (Italy) February 10, 2010 — SCHOTT, the manufacturer of the glass-ceramic “Robax”, will be introducing new decorative colors for fireplace viewing panels at the international fireplace trade fair Progetto Fuoco in Verona. In addition to the established colors “polar white” and “amber gold”, the international technology group will now be offering the color shades “tin grey”, “volcano grey”, “pure black”, “mystic black” and “autumn red”. All of these shades from SCHOTT are lead-free.

In order to support manufacturers of decorative “heating furniture” with additional design options, SCHOTT has developed new color shades for its transparent glass-ceramic “Robax”. The five new shades can be used to decorate the smooth surface of the fireplace viewing panels and are extremely temperature and abrasion-resistant.

“Colorful printed designs allow us to stand out from the rest,” explains Isabel Eymael, Marketing Manager for “Robax” at SCHOTT in Mainz. “This gives brand-name products an unmistakable color and design character. They can be distinguished more easily from standard products and be tailored to suit the tastes of specific target audiences,” she adds.

“Robax Ambience” also offers a broad range of different design options. This body tinted glass-ceramic for use in fireplace and stove exteriors is available in the three basic shades black, dark gray and white. In addition, “Robax Ambience” can be decorated with more than 15 different colors that are also lead-free, of course.

SCHOTT is devoted to developing environmentally friendly materials, products and techniques. The Research and Technology department’s “Project Green” deals with environmental policy regulations like REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances).

“We analyze current and future environmental legislation and requirements, then we assess how to execute them and evaluate whether or not they can be realized from a technological and materials science perspective,” explains Dr. Jochen Alkemper, the head of the project at SCHOTT. The goal is to develop ways of presenting “green” products and innovative solutions that even exceed the legal requirements.

For further information: www.schott.com/robax

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SCHOTT is an international technology group that sees its core purpose as the lasting improvement of living and working conditions. To this end, the company has been developing special materials, components and systems for 125 years. The main areas of focus are the household appliances industry, pharmaceuticals, solar energy, electronics, optics and the automotive industry. The SCHOTT Group is present in close proximity to its customers with production and sales companies in all its major markets. The Group’s approximately 17,300 employees generated worldwide sales of approximately 2.2 billion Euros in the fiscal year 2007/2008. The company’s technological and economic expertise is closely linked with its social and ecological responsibility. SCHOTT AG is an affiliate of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Foundation).