Berend, Ludwig

Chemist, inventor of synthetic lacquer resins

Born: 06.08.1868 in Hostenbach an der Saar

Died: 31.03.1940 in Wiesbaden

Berend initially trained as a pharmacist before taking up his studies in chemistry in Marburg in 1890 after completing his assistant's examination and completing his doctorate under Prof. Ernst Schmidt with a thesis on alkaloids. He found his first job at the Bayer paint factory in Elberfeld.

In 1910, he joined Dr. Kurt Albert 's newly founded company in Amöneburg as managing director, which was conducting research in the barely developed field of artificial materials. In 1910, while working on an assignment to develop an anti-corrosion coating, Berend came up with the idea of chemically refining pine resin. This resulted in an oil-soluble synthetic resin that could be used for the production of wood varnishes under the brand name "Albertol". It was the first synthetic varnish resin on the world market. On November 30, 1910, Kurt Albert and Berend received the patent for the new process.

In 1927, these synthetic resins surprisingly found a new market. Henry Ford urgently needed a faster-drying paint for his new Ford A model. The paint systems used until then (linseed oil-based) took several days to dry, which meant more than a month of painting time with 6-7 coats per car. This was an almost unsolvable logistical problem for Ford. Oil paints made with Albertolen dried much faster, so Ford was able to utilize its assembly line much better thanks to Berend's invention. It was also now possible for the first time to supply a car model in four different color variations, which significantly increased sales success.

From 1932, alkyd resins, which were also produced by the Albert company in Biebrich, allowed further acceleration of drying.

Berend worked at the company until his retirement in 1931, experimenting with emulsions and pesticides, among other things.

Fonrobert, Ewald: From the history of the German synthetic lacquer resin industry. In memory of Dr. Ludwig Behrend. In: Farben-Zeitung, 45th vol. no. 21, Berlin 1940.

Schwenk, Ernst: Almost forgotten inventors. 80 years of synthetic resins. Höchst, AG (ed.), Frankfurt am Main 1982.