Qualicoat - The Powder Coat Standard

Qualicoat (UK & Ireland) was set up in January 2001 following the rapid growth in the adoption of the standard across Europe. Over the last few years the vast majority of the powder coated architectural aluminium being imported from Europe has been coated to the Qualicoat standard.

Commonplace across Europe since 1986 and now a well known quality standard, the UK’s users and specifiers are now adopting the standard, as it not only offers an exceptional quality finish, but it is also independently tested by a UK testing house. Qualicoat members agree to pre-finish and apply powder coatings to a minimum standard using a wide range of materials from various manufacturers. The standard also meets and exceeds the latest British Standard for architectural powder coatings, BS EN 12206-1:2004.

Qualicoat members in the UK & Ireland ensure that a high standard of coating is supplied across the industry from the provision of a conservatory roof to a shopping centre atrium. So does this mean the costs of the powder coating is more expensive? Existing UK coaters who have adopted the standard do not charge any more in order to offer the Qualicoat finish.

With their offices based centrally in Birmingham Qualicoat (UK & Ireland) run four members meetings every year in various locations across the UK and Ireland. Membership is made up of the powder manufacturers, pre-treatment chemical providers, equipment manufacturers, consultants and the powder coat companies who have adopted the Qualicoat standard. This extensive supply chain ensures that all meeting topics facing the industry can be discussed, agreed and actioned on.

Meetings also offer individuals an opportunity to network with other members in the supply chain and discuss their own individual issues. Members are also offered a presentation from an industry specialist on a particular topic relevant to the industry. The aim of the association is to ensure that a high quality, consistent powder coating service is offered to the fenestration industry whilst providing a ‘voice of powder coating in the UK & Ireland’.

In 1986 several national associations encompassing coaters of architectural and fenestration components formed a quality label organisation called Qualicoat. Their goal was to raise and standardise the level of quality throughout Europe, laying down rules applying to their industry. Firms in many countries have become licensees, and Qualicoat has since grown on all continents. Through its efforts over the past 20 years, Qualicoat has played a key role in assuring the quality of aluminium parts used in architecture.

The Qualicoat quality label is a product certification scheme. Qualicoat has granted general licenses to national associations in each European county to issue Qualicoat certificates and inspect the licensed plants. Tests are performed by independent laboratories recognised by Qualicoat and accredited to ISO 17025. These laboratories and the inspectors are bracketed together as ‘Qualisurfal’.

Licensed coating plants who fail to meet the requirements lose their Qualicoat licence.

The latest Qualicoat standard is freely available from the European website, www.qualicoat.net and is in its 11th edition. The standard covers minimum requirements for such items as test methods, specification of equipment, approval procedures and specifications for in-house control of the finishes. Updates to the standard are often being issued and are also freely available on the website.

Principally the Qualicoat standard can be seen as a superior label for finished products as the minimum Qualicoat standard meets and exceeds the latest British Standard for architectural powder coatings, BS EN 12206-1:2004, whilst adding a third party accreditation in the form of independent testing of the finishes provided.

Qualicoat recognises the need for consistent quality in today’s architectural finishes, as failure of finishes on facade elements is quite easy to determine but can be very expensive to resolve. Remedial work can be completed with local refinishing on site for minor failures, with complete replacement for more serious failures. Use of a Qualicoat licensed applicator minimises the risk of failure without incurring additional costs so all projects should be specified as applied by a Qualicoat approved company.

Normally a powder coat finish is as good as the coater can supply and it is difficult for a user to identify if the coating is to the correct high standard as it is usually the pre-treatment or the paint thickness where problems lie. To meet the Qualicoat standard not only must a coater invest in new methodologies and possibly new machinery, the basis of the standard is that the resulting finishes are independently tested by a third party to ensure the standard is being maintained.

The Bodycote Testing group is a broad based testing company active worldwide with 53 laboratories, all of which are BS EN ISO 17025 approved. Bodycote Salford has recently relocated to a purpose built, state of the art laboratory in Eccles and is a centre of excellence for all coating testing, including architectural finishes. Once members samples have been tested and approved for license, the members can use the Qualicoat logo on all their market communication. Independent testing does not finish here, as member companies are inspected by Bodycote up to five times a year. These routine inspections are carried out without prior agreement and cover the whole powder coat process including test samples.

Huub Sips of Bodycote comments, “I have been working with Qualicoat in the UK since January 2001 when the association was set up and we have formed a close working relationship with member companies. I am convinced that the Qualicoat standard offers customers consistent quality and I recommend that all powder coaters in the UK should become involved.” Specifiers, fabricators and end users should all specify the qualicoat standard in all their work to ensure we maintain the excellent quality that architectural powder coatings can achieve today.

By ensuring that the Qualicoat standard is specified and supplied on all architectural coatings, from residential doors, conservatory roofs and windows, the chance of a future failure of the coating is negligible.

Qualicoat (UK & Ireland) held their December member’s meeting in Belfast at the Malone Lodge Hotel, the meeting was well attended with 15 companies present. During the meeting the guest speaker, and member of Qualicoat, Alan Green of Chemetall, offered a presentation on the technical and practical aspects of non-chrome pre-treatment. Such systems have now been in use for up to fifteen years and quality and effectiveness have developed to be comparable with chrome systems. The rapid growth of such systems in Europe, including adoption by a number of Qualicoat (UK & Ireland) coater-members, will continue. Members feedback was positive to learn that such effective high quality alternatives to chrome are available as increasing safety and environmental regulation will put pressure on the continued use of chrome systems.

The last meeting in April was held at the Hilton Newcastle at Gateshead, which was again well attended by members. After the general meeting Arthur Moseley and Steve Kelly of Akzo Nobel offered an introduction into new government legislation on the guidelines for the disposal of waste powder. Whilst these waste products are not ‘hazardous’ they now become part of ‘controlled’ waste and as such needs documentation for its safe disposal. The important issue is that of ‘duty of care’ which remains with the producer of the waste until safely disposed even though the collector of the waste is registered.

Qualicoat is an active association which is continually raising the quality available through its members in a controlled and economic way for the industry. Whilst there are costs associated with members both in fees and some specialist equipment members do see the benefit of a reduction in possible failures in the longer term. As there is no premium to pay for specifiers of of Qualicoat label powder coating, such as the systems companies and fabricators, there is no reason why everyone should be specifying Qualicoat in the future.

Long term benefits for the client means a better looking product over a longer life expectancy which in turn ensures the continuation of high quality finishes as those applied under the Qualicoat label.