QUALICOAT Supports Surface World
Surface World Exhibition
Membership of the UK & Ireland Association continues to grow as the QUALICOAT Specification continues to be adopted by architectural powder coaters, powder manufacturers and pretreatment systems companies. Now with 44 members across the region, the aim of the Association remains the adoption of the most up to date methodologies and specifications to ensure the very best in architectural powder coating for specifiers in the construction industry.
QUALICOAT Members will be on hand on stand A20 at the forthcoming Surface World exhibition which takes place on the 4th & 5th October in Hall 11 at the NEC in Birmingham. If you are attending please drop by to meet us and discuss any issues you may have or possibly discuss with us your potential membership. Tickets for the show are available from the surfaceworld.com website.
The Association aims to communicate two of the USP’s of the QUALICOAT Specification.
The Specification is ‘the only globally recognised specification for architectural powder coating’. This means that as a specifier you can specify QUALICOAT for any project, anywhere and it will be supported with a local, licensed supply chain.
The Specification is also ‘the only third party accredited specification for architectural powder coating’ services. Powder coating Members are visited, unannounced, twice yearly by an independent test house who inspects current processes and checks records to ensure the Specification is being followed. Failure to follow the Specification can lead to a Member losing their QUALICOAT licence allowing them to use the quality label.
The history of the Association makes interesting reading. In 1986 several national associations encompassing coaters of architectural systems formed a quality label organisation and called it QUALICOAT. Their goal was to raise and standardise the level of quality of powder coating throughout Europe, laying down rules applying to their industry. Today, companies from all five continents have now become licensees and the number of national and international associations has continued to grow. Through the efforts of Members over the past few decades, QUALICOAT has continued to play a key role in assuring the quality of coatings on aluminium systems used in architecture. Architectural aluminium powder coaters, powder suppliers and manufacturers of pretreatment chemical systems have been represented on the QUALICOAT committees from the outset, thereby ensuring an exchange of ideas and information between coaters and their suppliers. These committees and working group undertake research and determine agreements that form the basis of the constantly updated QUALICOAT Specification we know today.
The current QUALICOAT Specification is freely available for download via the Association website, qualicoatuki.org and offers an up-to-date list of licensed UK and Ireland Powder Suppliers, Pretreatment Suppliers and Applicators. Telephone support is available from QUALICOAT UK & Ireland Head Office in Birmingham on 0330 236 2800, the Association can also be followed on Twitter @Qualicoatuki or on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/qualicoat-uk-&-ireland.