QUALICOAT UK & IRELAND
QUALICOAT UK & Ireland Releases First Wave of Speakers for Conference 2022
The first ‘ hybrid ’ members meeting of the year was held at the Arden Hotel , Solihull in March and was well attended by members both in person and online . Besides the continued growth of QUALICOAT in the UK & Ireland , the main topic of discussion was the upcoming ‘ Future Proofing Facades ’ event that is to take place on the 14th June at the Building Centre , Store Street , London .
Keynote speaker for the QUALICOAT UK & Ireland conference 2022 – Futureproofing Facades , Maxwell Hutchinson .
Aimed at facade specifiers , the ‘ Future Proofing Facades ’ conference aims to offer both an update as to where architectural powder coating is today and an opportunity for members of the Association to hear from specifiers and their needs , especially on issues of safety and sustainability . An impressive line-up of speakers has now been confirmed placing the event as a ‘ must attend ’ for any specifier of architectural powder coatings .
Following the awarding of a QUALICOAT licence to Bradleys Metal Finishers , applications for new licences continue to be received by the secretariat . One Midlands based powder coater has recently undergone their second pre-grant inspection of their plant and processes and is close to being awarded their licence confirming their adherence to the latest QUALICOAT specification . With this licence granted , there will be twenty licensed applicators across the British Isles who offer architectural powder coating meeting the QUALICOAT standard . A further four coaters across are in the process of working towards the standard and will be undergoing inspections by the independent tests house IFO based in the Netherlands .
It was raised that some specifiers still request coatings to meet a fire rating of A1 where architectural powder coatings fall into the A2 , s1-d0 classification . It was agreed that this is an educational issue as significant tests have been undertaken that prove the safety of a A2 , s1-d0 classification . This issue will be discussed in detail at the forthcoming ‘ Future Proofing Facades ’ conference in June .
On environmental issues , the ‘ National Resource Wales ’ are considering tightening tolerances on industrial discharge to surface water , but the UK agencies feel that the tolerances being discussed will damage general industry at this time . The secretariat will keep members informed of any pending changes .
Training of Laboratory Technicians in the most up to date production recording and testing requirements is a prerequisite of holding a QUALICOAT licence . A training day for for 2022 has been set for the 8th November , venue yet to be confirmed . Training will be undertaken by QUALICOAT UK & Ireland ’ s nominated independent test house IFO ; all Laboratory Technician ’ s must attend a standards update course at lease every two years .
The global QUALICOAT standard is incrementally revised in realtime with regular update sheets and is revised to include all updates each year end . The standard and any update sheets are freely available for download at www . qualicoat . net . For details on the availability of various colours and finishes contact any QUALICOAT UK & Ireland member for more information . For updated information about the use and specification of QUALICOAT in the UK and Ireland , please visit the UK & Ireland Association website at www . qualicoatuki . org
Credit : ALUK Credit : Barley Chalu . Image courtesy of The Parkside Group ( Comar ). Credit : Barley Chalu . Image courtesy of The Parkside Group ( Comar ).
10 APRIL 2022 twitter : @ surfaceworldmag