Wood product manufacturers with powder coating lines now have to apply and pay for a licence following the granting of a patent to the Meristem Furniture Group.
The patent (GB 2 333 725B) applies to coating processes where pre-heating of wood is required and is only in force within the UK.
Devon-based furniture maker Jenner Davey, part of Meristem, developed MDF powder with help from Sonneborn & Rieck in 1993. The research found pre-heating was key to successful powder coating of wood-based panels.
Meristem says the one-coat process is environmentally friendly and cost effective. It is now used by about 20 UK firms.
Jenner Davey’s own powder coating operation, devoted to mainly home and office furniture, first introduced products to the market in 1998. It commissioned a full-scale production line, incorporating gas catalytic ovens, the same year.
Cabinet manufacturer Acre Products, of Halifax, is the first company to be granted a licence by Meristem. Its first MDF powder coating line was commissioned in 1999 and a second was set up the following year.
The company can coat over 1,000m² of board per hour – giving annual capacity of more than one million cabinets.
Peter Beele, head of research and consulting at FIRA said powder coating aided flexibility as well as being ‘green’. He said the patent’s only downside was companies having to pay for the concept of pre-heating.
