INDUSTRY NEWS QUALICOAT Members Meet in Cork

By Angus Mackie - QUALICOAT Chair

As the Association covers both the UK and Ireland, the second members council meeting of the year was held at Architectural & Metal Systems (AMS), based in Cork, who kindly offered their meeting room facilities for the event which was attended by thirty members.

AMS was established in Cork in January 1990 by Chris Martin, Pat O’Hara and the late Dave Rawlings to supply fenestration systems across the region. The company has grown significantly since 1990 and now offers system design, aluminium extrusions, powder coating, anodising thermal break and fabrication services. Early members of QUALICOAT UK & Ireland, this year marks AMS’s twentieth year in membership. As early adopters on new technology, AMS have utilised only chrome-free pretreatment since joining QUALICOAT for all of their architectural aluminium powder coating, citing chrome free technology as a robust pretreatment system.

The meeting took place within the AMS offices, overlooking the ‘Lough Mahon’ on Little Island and despite the warm weather outside, the meeting was opened by Chair, Angus Mackie, who welcomed everybody to the meeting and thanked AMS for their hospitality and assistance in organising the meeting.

Following a round table delegate introduction, the Chair welcomed two new member companies at the meeting, Ross Hartshorn & Eddy Webb from Garnalex and Declan Deane from Deane Roofing. Both companies were awarded their licences in early 2023. After matters of business were covered, the Members discussed the upcoming Surface Live Show at the NEC on the 4th & 5th of October and attendance at the ZAK World of Facades in London later in the year on the 8th November. The Surface World Live show brings people together from all the surface coatings businesses and associations to discuss and review the Industry. Supporting the event, QUALICOAT Members will be present to discuss the benefits of membership of the Association.

The ZAK World of Facades event, which takes place in London, brings together the complete facade supply chain including specifiers who are working on projects in the UK and overseas. QUALICOAT is taking a tabletop stand at the show and will be on-hand during the conference break-outs to offer guidance on specification of architectural powder coatings which adorn the majority of facades around the globe.

Most UK & Ireland members are now using chrome-free pretreatment systems and the Members were reminded that the use of hexavalent chromate in the UK for pretreatment will be banned by the HSE from September 2024 due to its carcinogenic properties. Pretreatment systems Members confirmed that their products will be withdrawn for sale in the UK at that time but that the product will continue to be used in other countries around the globe as it remains within QUALICOAT approval. Two further companies applying for QUALICOAT application licences are very close to being awarded. One UK systems company in the West Midlands and an applicator business in the South East. Both companies have recently cleared initial inspections, with these two companies in membership later in the year, twenty eight of the UK’s leading architectural powder coat applicators will be QUALICOAT approved licensed applicators.

Training for the members laboratory technicians, which takes place once a year and is obligatory for members to attend at least once every two years, will be held in the Midlands on the 21st November and be run by the independent German test house IFO. More information will be available on the website prior to the event.

On the technology, front there will shortly be a further appendix added to the QUALICOAT Specification. The new appendix will cover post forming of powder coated profiles. As technology in the metal curving world has advanced allowing specifiers freedom in design, there has been little research undertaken to determine the life expectancy of the coatings on the profiles that have been shaped after powder coating. The appendix will cover the appropriate specification of powders and pretreatment systems that will ensure powder adhesion on such profiles. Some powder formulations are more flexible than others, using a more brittle coating, could cause issues over time for a coated curved profile. The appendix will offer specification advice which has been researched by a QUALICOAT working group of members from around the globe. The appendix will be launched later this year.

QUALICOAT 3.0 continues to gain traction with specifiers where the aluminium itself forms part of the coating specification. Whilst the mechanical properties of extrusions with high recycled content is well understood, the level of trace elements and the structure of the aluminium at the molecular level is less so. With some slight adjustments in the extrusion process, mainly around the heating of the billet and die, a more consistent grain structure can be achieved and this, together with the reduction of ‘tramp’ elements in the aluminium, can further extend the life of powder coating by several decades.

The next Members Council Meeting, to be held on the 22nd November, will be the Members 2023 AGM which also coincides with the UK & Ireland Associations twenty fifth year anniversary. The event is to be marked with a dinner and meeting in the West Midlands.

The meeting closed at lunchtime and after a short lunch break, Members were treated to a guided tour of AMS extensive facility.

The current QUALICOAT Specification is freely available for download via the Association website, qualicoatuki.org and offers an up-to-date list of licensed UK and Ireland Powder Suppliers, Pretreatment Suppliers and Applicators. Telephone support is available from QUALICOAT UK & Ireland Head Office in Birmingham on 0330 236 2800, the Association can also be followed on Twitter @ Qualicoatuki or on Linkedin www. linkedin.com/company/qualicoatuk-&-ireland.