Fabricator May 11 - profinder.eu

NEWS EXTRA
25 year test
Companies in many countries have become licensees as Qualicoat has grown across all
continents.Through its efforts over the past 25 years, Qualicoat has played a key role in
assuring the quality of architectural aluminium
Powder coating is
the most
popular finish for
many architectural
features found on
buildings. It comes
in a very wide range
of colours and
textures and on the
surface can look
excellent once
installed. As a
building is only as
good as its
foundations, what
lurks in and under
the powder coat
finish matters a great deal. There are
standards that specify the application of
powder coating for architectural
finishes and the majority of powder
coaters in the UK and Ireland follow
these closely and these are the
minimum standards which should be
achieved in all cases.
Back in 1986 several national
associations representing coaters of
architectural aluminium, formed a
quality label organisation called
Qualicoat. The organisations goal was
to raise and
standardise the level
of powder coating
quality across
Europe, laying down
minimum standards
applying to the
industry.
In 2001 Qualicoat
UK and Ireland
association was
formed, with two
coaters and four
powder coat
manufacturers, in
order to further the
interests of
businesses in the
UK. Qualicoat is a
standard which
8
The association
in the UK stands
at 28 members
with several new
companies
seeking licences
encompasses all the
current European
standards, improves on
them, insists that the
output be checked by
an independent body
and licences.
Specifying the
Qualicoat standard has
a ‘no cost implication’
as member companies
realise the benefit of
getting the product
right first time and for
extended life
expectancy. This
obviously reduces
remedial costs which in turn pay for the
slight increase in cost of the finish.
Today the association in the UK stands at
28 members and with several new
companies seeking licences, the number
should be over 30 by the end of 2011. The
Qualicoat quality label is a product
certification scheme, Qualicoat has granted
general licences to national associations,
such as Qualicoat UK & Ireland, to issue
these certificates and to undertake regular
inspection the licensed plants. Member
companies consist of not only the powder
coating companies, but
also include the powder
manufacturers,
equipment
manufacturers,
consultants and pretreatment
chemical
suppliers, which make
up the complete supply
chain. Bringing these
specialists together in
one networking
organisation allows all
standards to be
discussed and
improved which will
ultimately improve
both the quality and
durability of the
Qualicoat label.❐
The Fabricator 2011