Manufacture

The coating process can be considered within three zones: entry, process and exit. Pre-finished steel is manufactured within a continuous process which guarantees high quality standards through controlling the coating thickness, colour, gloss, adhesion and corrosion resistance.

• A steel coil, normally with the metallic coating applied, is mounted on a pay-off reel and mechanically stitched to the end of the previous coil to allow a continuous process.
• The strip passes through an accumulator, which moves up and down to store the strip.
• The strip is cleaned and degreased and a pre-treatment is applied to assure good adhesion of the paint to the substrate.

• The strip is painted at two separate roller coating sections, the first applying the primer and second applying the final topcoat and backer coat.
• Within each of these sections, the paint is pumped from the paint kitchen to tanks feeding the coater heads. This wet film is then dried and cured in a continuous furnace at strip temperatures of up to 250°C. The Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the paint provide the energy for curing. Hence, no VOCs are released into the environment. Carefulcontrol at this stage ensures that optimum properties of the coating are achieved. After curing, the coated strip is quenched with cold water.
• An embossing roll can be used on the thick film coatings like plastisol to apply a surface emboss.

• The strip then passes through the exit accumulator, again to support the continuous process, before being sheared and recoiled to the customer’s dimensions.
• The coil is then securely packaged and dispatched to the customer.
• Quality monitors are carried out throughout the process, with laboratory, visual and electronic inspections.