Paint manufacturers in the system
"If you want to be a system supplier, you have to be practical," stresses Jost. In the case of a paint manufacturer, this means making sure that all the paints used match - including, of course, points that are not immediately visible, such as the effects of ageing. Colors must also match under different light conditions. "When we are in contact with users, we always point this out," he explains. "It is not enough, for example, to specify a specific ΔE when determining the color and then hope for a perfectly matched powder/liquid paint duo. It is much better to define deviations on color axes."
Different paint areas - especially in larger companies - are still often separated. There is a need for action and the ability to coordinate and cooperate is required. In order to create and maintain user proximity, Rembrandtin, together with the WAGNER Group, recently organized a workshop at the WAGNER technology center in Markdorf. There it was shown in theory and practice what coaters should pay attention to. In this technology center Wagner has already held several events with customers and partners in the past to present the latest technical developments. It is also available for customer test runs as well as product development and training purposes.
In addition to various coating systems such as cathodic dip painting, liquid coating, powder coating and gel coats, market-specific developments such as the amendment to DIN EN ISO 12944 are also of importance. In 2018, this led to the opening up of a much broader spectrum of standard-compliant top coats such as fluoropolymers, epoxysiloxanes and polyaspartics.
System plant manufacturer
But also for plant manufacturers it is of high relevance not only to have an overview of plants but also of entire systems including the relevant paint products - i.e. to act as a system provider.
"The best thing for the user is always when plant manufacturer and paint supplier sit at the same table when it comes to new planning," says Patrick Freche, Business Relationship Manager for material manufacturers. He is responsible for maintaining contact and regular exchange with powder and liquid paint manufacturers, keeping an eye on the latest technical developments in the paint sector.
Freche continues: "The service concept is becoming more and more important for the end customer. That makes perfect sense. Already when planning new plants, attention should be paid to the characteristics of the materials used in the future. The paint feeding or the storage of materials, for example, is of importance here. Of course, it's perfect when paint suppliers and plant manufacturers work together".
WAGNER will continue on this path in the future and expand on it. Special international workshops are planned together with various paint manufacturers. These are aimed at managing directors and plant managers of coating facilities in various industrial segments. From wood to automobiles, everything is included. The entire process chain is usually represented in order to provide a holistic view. "Of course, we pay attention to neutrality here and do not prefer any paint manufacturer," emphasizes Freche.
Rembrandtin also plans to hold further workshops with various partners in the future. The paint manufacturer also opened a new training center in Slovenia last year. The focus there is on industrial applications. A state-of-the-art paint box equipped with a video system is integrated into the training center. In the future, training videos in English will be created here, which will also use robot technology.
"And of course we want to map and work out new trends. For 2019, for example, we are focusing on ultra-high solid systems - the market will certainly grow significantly here," says Jost. And which trends does WAGNER see for the new year? "Globalization and digitization are increasing the competitive pressure in the industry - also in the area of surface coating," explains Freche. "Plant availability and productivity must therefore continue to rise. This is a development that we will also have to deal with intensively in 2019. With the fully automated powder coating system 'IPS', we are already responding to these requirements".
Source: Besser Lackieren, 28 January 2019
