QUALICOAT TRAINS THE LAB TECHNICIAN

QUALICOAT Trains the Lab Technicians

By Angus Mackie - QUALICOAT UK & Ireland Chair

As you would expect from the name of the QUALICOAT specifi cation for powder coating architectural aluminium profi les, consistent quality is paramount for applicator licence holders of the Association. This is only achieved by regular monitoring of the powder coating process through the members test laboratory and this is where the Laboratory Technicians step in.

Lab technician training

It is now mandatory that the applicator licence holders Laboratory Technicians attend a refresher training course at least once every two years. This ensures that the latest developments in the QUALICOAT Specification for production monitoring and testing is implemented and maintained. This, in turn, will ensure compliance with the Specification when unannounced applicator plant inspections are undertaken every six months. Passing these quality audits ensures that an applicator maintains their licence to offer the QUALICOAT Specification. For specifiers this is a key reason why they specify QUALICOAT for all their architectural powder coating. The yearly training meetings, a QUALICOAT specification requirement, are organised by IFO who are QUALICOAT UK & Irelands independent test house located in Germany. This years training day was for the first time in three years held in person hosted in Milton Keynes by pretreatment member Chemetall, who made available testing equipment for chrome-free analysis including photometers and a hand held x-ray machine. Twenty five participants from all over the UK attended to discuss specification updates and listen to technical presentations. Industrial Physics, a global test and inspection equipment supplier, offered additional measurement equipment, specifically introducing and explaining equipment that monitors the cure index. Akzo Nobel offered a presentation explaining how powder formulations are produced, specifically which materials were used to offer the various classes of coatings for extended gloss and colour retention. Oliver Boegler, Head of Inspections at IFO, gave an overview of coating various aluminium alloys, coating testing methods and an update on the latest QUALICOAT specifications. With four new powder coating applicators receiving their licences recently and further applicators currently undergoing training and review by IFO, the majority of architectural powder coaters in the UK & Ireland are licensed to supply to the QUALICOAT specification and carry the QUALICOAT label.

The QUALICOAT Specifi cation is continually and incrementally revised in real time with regular update sheets, the specifi cation is completely rewritten at year end to include all updates. The global Specifi cation, its appendices and any update sheets are always freely available for download at www.qualicoat.net. For details on the availability of various colours and fi nishes contact any QUALICOAT UK & Ireland member for more information. For updated information about the use and specifi cation of QUALICOAT in the UK and Ireland, please visit the UK & Ireland Association website at www.qualicoatuki.org.