To stay in the premier league of surface technology, we have found a fantastic solution to our outdated painting method, by partnering with Nordson, who installed a specially-designed powder coating booth, equipped with advanced dense-phase spray systems.
The new switchover, is from liquid paint to a powder coating method. The previous liquid paint system had seen better days, required hours of weekly maintenance, and created environmental concerns. It was clear that Whittan had to get away from liquid painting, by improving operating efficiencies and finish quality, as well as delivering on environmental benefits.
“The nature of our product is such that it allows us to load the line quite densely, with minimum gaps between the products. Because of this, the old liquid system delivered a rather high application efficiency and material utilisation,” said Christopher Walker, Link 51 Shelving, plant Managing Director, “however, each day we came to work smelling solvent in the air. Although all cleaning and disposal procedures were closely followed, we have a high level of environmental awareness and it was time to do the right thing – convert to a more environmentally friendly finishing method.”
After just 9 months of operation, the following positive results were achieved:
- 50 % reduction in the applied material cost
- Operating, disposal, and environmental compliance cost reduction
- 70 % reduction in rework and quality costs
- Increased production capacity due to zero downtime for maintenance
- High colour change flexibility with less than 15 min colour change time on a 6.5 m tall booth
- Zero consumption of replacement parts
- Clean, environmentally-friendly operating conditions
- Expected 14-month return on investment
In summary, we can definitely say that moving from liquid to powder coating was an excellent investment. Our high expectations for a quick payback and numerous operating benefits have been fully met or exceeded.
Watch it in motion!
Watch the Paint Line Video here
