High-quality powder coating systems: optimal preservation of steel structures

Powder coating offers many advantages over automated wet painting. Among other things, powder coating is more environmentally friendly and offers a more scratch-resistant, easier to touch up and more attractive end result. Not surprisingly, more and more clients are choosing to have steel structural components preserved using this technique. At Van Merksteijn Staalcoating, which has been active in steel conservation for about 75 years and has grown into one of the leading steel coating companies in the Netherlands, they experience this every day.

To meet the growing demand, the Raalte-based company will take into operation a brand-new powder coating line on January 1, 2020. This will double the production capacity in the field of powder coating in one fell swoop.

Director Jan-Bart van Merksteijn is eagerly looking forward to the first day of the upcoming year. "With the arrival of the new state-of-the-art powder coating line, we are making great strides in terms of efficiency and are better able to meet the ever-growing market demand for powder-coated products. And that growing demand has everything to do with the many advantages of this sustainable steel preservation process."

Aerial view of the Van Merksteijn site with the new storage and powder coating line highlighted in red.

More durable and beautiful

Some of these deserve further explanation. For example, whereas a wet-paint system cures with solvents, powder coating uses a thermal process. Not only does this produce a more durable end result, but the curing time is significantly shorter with powder coating. "The evaporation of the solvents used in wet-paint systems takes two weeks, a period during which the system remains soft," Van Merksteijn said. "The curing of a solvent-free powder coating layer takes only ten minutes. After that, the system is really hard and the treated product can be transported and assembled immediately. Furthermore, a powder coating system allows you to work with higher gloss levels. The process of applying the system results in a more even and aesthetically pleasing appearance of the treated product. In addition, powder-coated components are much easier and almost invisible to touch up in case of damage. To this end, we offer a wide range of spray cans of single-component paint, a product that is manufactured in-house exactly to color."

Alignment

With a working area of approximately 135,000 m2, including nearly 60,000 m2 of production space, Van Merksteijn Staalcoating is able to process some 600 tons of steel every day. This takes place not only within the ultramodern powder coating line, one of the largest in Europe, which was put into operation in 1997. Clients from the Netherlands and abroad also knock on the door of the centrally located town of Raalte for wet coating, duplex coating and the application of fire-resistant coatings. That flow will only increase with the arrival of the currently emerging new powder coating line. "The decision to build a second powder coating line will allow us, starting next year, to optimally meet the increasing demand from the market," says Van Merksteijn. "As of January 1, our production capacity will double. In addition, storage space will be expanded by approximately 1.2 hectares and our logistics services will be closely tailored to the increased production volume. Aspects that fit seamlessly with the wishes and needs of the customer. Because they have been emphatically central to our business for 75 years."