Description of the institution

Megara is a diversified manufacturer and supplier of raw materials for industrial and architectural coatings as well as rosin based and other synthetic resins for the paint, adhesive, paper and construction industry. For over 40 years, Megara has been a pioneer in creating innovative technologies to help coatings formulators meet their customers’ most demanding applications.

Today, the company remains firmly committed to the pillars of innovation and new technologies and is widely regarded as being the most innovative Greek supplier to the coatings industry through its continued investment in R&D, technical support and new product development. With technical, research and manufacturing facilities located in Megara, innovation is combined with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a sales and distribution network that enable Megara offering focused solutions for its customers’ needs. The company offers resin systems that meet and exceed customer expectations of application properties, environmental compliance and end use performance. Introduction of new «green» resins based on low VOC systems in combination with high performance properties shows the dedication and commitment to the development of environmentally friendly products.

Role in the project

Megara Resins will provide specifications of glycerol and propylene glycol currently used in its production (WP1) of polymers (unsaturated polyester resins, alkyd resins and saturated polyesters for powder coatings) for paints and coatings as well as fiber reinforced composites (UPR resins). Megara will use different qualities of purified crude glycerol from biodiesel production and study the impact of both quality and concentration of purified glycerol and its conversion product, propylene glycol, to the properties of the resulting polymers (alkyd resins, polyester resins).

Megara uses 700 k tons annually for the production of polymers (rosin esters, maleic resins, alkyd resins and polyester resins), therefore there is high potential for the biodiesel produced glycerine to be exploited in the production of different polymers.

Megara Resins S.A. will therefore work on:

WP1, task 1.3

WP3, task 3.5

WP5, task 5.2

Key personnel

 Name and last name: Poppy Krassa

Title: Mrs.

Role in the company: R&D Manager

Poppy Krassa (female) has a BSc degree in Chemistry awarded from Ioannina University in 1999 and a MSc degree in Catalysis and Environmental Protection awarded by the Hellenic Open University in 2007. Poppy joined Megara Resins in 2013 and was appointed as Research Project Manager. She strives to develop research capacity and capability and is committed to embedding research into core Megara business. She has more than 14 years of research and management experience in EC-funded collaborative research projects with extensive knowledge of polymers for paints, coatings, structural materials and adhesives, in particular alkyd resins, unsaturated and saturated polyester resins and aqueous dispersions. During her past experience she has managed numerous funded and in-house research projects related to polymer synthesis and characterization which led to the development of new innovative products. She will be the scientific person responsible for the technical work to be undertaken by Megara in the project as well as for the management activities on behalf of Megara.

Key-Person 2

Name and last name: Vasilis Kotsonis

Title: Mr.

Role in the company: Senior R&D Scientist

Vasilis Kotsonis (male) holds a degree in Chemistry from Ioannina University. He is a senior R&D scientist and has worked over the last seventeen years in the area of polymers for paints and coatings. He will perform synthesis of new resins in lab reactors as well as characterization of the resins and the final products.