Powder coatings for the high-tech working world of the future

In clean rooms, laboratories, and ESD areas, the highest standards of functionality, safety, and design apply. With the TEXON, the Interstuhl subsidiary Bimos has introduced a work chair that meets these requirements. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

The TEXON was awarded gold for its outstanding product design at the German Design Award 2025. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

A suitable paint solution was required to meet the specified cleanroom and ESD requirements. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

With the "TEXON," Bimos has now launched a new chair on the market that not only meets cleanroom conditions but also immediately received several important design awards upon its launch. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

Due to the deployment locations in cleanrooms, ESD, laboratories, and manufacturing, characteristics such as a dissipative setting according to DIN EN IEC 61340-5-1, a highly scratch-resistant surface, and high resistance to sometimes very aggressive cleaning and disinfecting agents were required. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

The Interstuhl brand Bimos specializes in work chairs for production, ESD areas, laboratories, and cleanrooms. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

The TEXON meets high standards of functionality, hygiene, and durability. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

The developers of FreiLacke succeeded in creating a powder coating surface based on polyester resin that has the look & feel of a matte metal surface. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

The Gold Award is the highest honor of the award and is only given to products that are considered groundbreaking for entire industries. The Gold distinction emphasizes the innovative strength and high design quality of TEXON and sends a strong message for the future of ergonomic work. (Copyright: FreiLacke | Emil Frei GmbH & Co. KG)

With the new "TEXON," Interstuhl has launched a task chair under its Bimos brand designed for environments such as cleanrooms, laboratories, and ESD areas. The chair meets high standards of functionality, hygiene, and durability. A key element is a specially developed powder coating from FreiLacke, which fulfills both technical and aesthetic requirements.

Special products require special manufacturing conditions. This is especially true in research, optics and laser technology, aerospace engineering, and other high-tech industries. These conditions can usually only be created in laboratories or cleanrooms, where the air is kept dust- and germ-free through filtration systems. Other items require ESD conditions, meaning protected areas where electrostatic discharges are controlled to prevent damage or destruction of sensitive components.

Such complex work environments impose the highest demands on safety, ergonomics, and hygiene – requirements that also apply to inventory and furniture. With "TEXON," Bimos has now introduced a new chair that not only meets cleanroom conditions but also immediately received several important design awards upon its launch.

Functionality and Resistance in Focus

Interstuhl, a family-owned company from the Swabian Alb, has been developing and manufacturing chairs for the workplace for six decades. The Bimos brand specializes in office chairs for production, ESD areas, laboratories, and cleanrooms. The chair bases, frames, and backrests of the new "TEXON" chair are made of die-cast aluminum and steel. As specified by designers and product managers, these components should have a metallic look in white aluminum and black gray tones. Regarding technical properties, Interstuhl chose powder coating to achieve maximum functionality and surface resistance – a water-based lacquer like those used in prototypes would have been only a temporary solution, as it would not have provided the desired quality.

A suitable coating solution was needed that would also meet the requirements for cleanroom and ESD conditions. Since Interstuhl has maintained a very good and cooperative relationship with the family-owned company FreiLacke for many years, the request was directly sent to the coating experts from the Black Forest. The company is well aware of what FreiLacke can achieve; additionally, several employees had already undergone training in Döggingen, according to the company.

High Durability Against Cleaning and Disinfectant Agents Required

According to Ralf Kerner from FreiLacke's industry sales, developing the powder coating was quite demanding: "The components were coated with liquid paints for sampling and should now receive the same surface quality with powder coating. Furthermore, the powder coatings for die-cast aluminum, with its outgassing properties, had to be adjusted." Due to the environments in cleanroom, ESD, laboratory, and manufacturing, many additional characteristics were required, such as a dissipative setting according to DIN EN IEC 61340-5-1, a highly scratch-resistant surface, and high resistance to some very aggressive cleaning and disinfectant agents. There was also no tolerance for effect development and surface quality. "Our service is to provide our customers with application solutions, even when they are as demanding and versatile as in this case," says Kerner.

Look & Feel of a Metal Surface

FreiLacke's developers succeeded in creating a powder coating surface based on polyester resin that mimics the look and feel of a matte metal surface. The development took about a year, including several adjustments, as initial issues with application behavior arose with white aluminum. FreiLacke modified the coating in multiple steps in their own laboratory until the structure was fully convincing.

The powder coatings FREIOTHERM PP5151OI1384 in white aluminum and FREIOTHERM PP5061NRA721 in black gray score well in terms of surface hardness and mechanical durability and also perform well on outgassing substrates. The high-tech coatings are applied with corona guns and are easy to process, with a recommended layer thickness of around 60-80 μm. The chair manufacturer reports that they were very well advised regarding the powder selection for the new flagship TEXON, and the involvement of the FreiLacke team was highly valued.

Priming at the Premiere

At its debut at Orgatec 2024, the high-tech chair immediately caused a sensation: TEXON was awarded gold at the German Design Award 2025 for its outstanding product design. The gold award is the highest honor of the competition and is only given to products considered groundbreaking for entire industries. The gold accolade underscores the innovative strength and high design quality of TEXON and makes a strong statement for the future of ergonomic working.

Additionally, the chair was recognized as a "Winner" at the German Innovation Award in the category #W2 "Excellence in Business to Business – Machines & Engineering." According to the jury, TEXON addresses the challenges of complex work environments through a combination of Auto-Motion technology for dynamic sitting, ESD-compliant features, and hygienically optimized design.

A small but crucial contribution was likely made by the newly developed powder coatings. With them, the FreiLacke team has impressively demonstrated that they are already prepared for the workplaces of tomorrow.