Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

December, 2002

Coil Coating Question

Q. My customer is folding gate manufacturing.this my one best customers. Yesterday they told us about new folding gate painting method.they call "coil coating." They asked me if our staff could make paint for this coil coating method. Our customer gave us time for research of 6 months. Can you help us?

A. Are you sure the customer wants to coat the metal using a coil coating process? Coil coating is a very special process in which large steel coils are unrolled on a very fast moving conveyor line, sometimes several hundred meters/minute. Paint is applied using curtain coaters or reverse roller coaters. The paint cures very fast, sometimes in seconds, in an oven or using UV lamps, and then the coil is rolled up again. Usually the coil is sold to another manufacturer who then fabricates the coiled metal into the finished product. Is this the process your customer wants to do? If so, the coil coating is a very special formulation. In the United States there are very few manufacturers who make it. Also, even if you do make it for your customer, you will need good technical staff to assist your customer when problems occur on the production line.

If you want to find out more about the coil coating process you might like to visit http://www.coilcoating.org/.

I am not able to assist you in formulating a coil coating, nor do I know a consultant who can help you. If you really want to sell this type of paint to your customer, I suggest that you pay an American company for a license so that you can make their paint in Indonesia. It is possible that you can enter into such a contract. If this is something you are interested in then I can help you find a company in the United States that might be willing to work with you.