Not many people provide UV?coating as a jobbing service, but it is our main production.
The technology has been around for some time, and while many may do their own UV coating we offer it as a service to others.
Lacquer is applied with a roller coating system and then cured with UV light. This is instant compared with conventional drying, and means the product can be handled once it reaches the end of the line.
This means we can put a lot through the machine, as long as it fits the line. We don’t produce any of our own products, so it’s all for customers. It is mainly used for veneered panels and does restrict us to flat panels, but we also offer vacuum coating for profiles.
We invested in the vacuum coating technology a year ago, which uses an all water-based lacquer, so it is environmentally friendly.
Obviously market conditions have changed a lot since then but it is still an important addition to our service.
We also do spray finishing using solvent and water-based solutions. We don’t feel water-based products offer the same quality as solvents, or are as cost-effective, but if there is a hike in petroleum prices again and the environmental message gets stronger, we’ll see more research into them.
