ECCA UK Conference: 11 th/12 th October - Corus Colors, Shotton Works

Members of ECCA UK converged on Shotton Works, North Wales , home of Colorcoat ® by Corus last month to attend their inaugural conference. Members of the European Coil Coating Association attended representing various elements of the industry.

Experts from many fields shared their knowledge with around 60 delegates over the two day seminar. Nick Brown of BASF Coatings Ltd. and ECCA UK Chairman opened the first day.

Frans Eschauzier, Chairman of ECCA started the round of presentations by giving delegates an overview of ECCA and how it plays a part representing the industry.

Peter Shaw (Akzo Nobel Nippon Paint Ltd) looked at the future trends within the coil coating industry which was followed by a look at some of the developments in the processes by Neil Jones of Bronx International. Among the areas discussed were benefits which the chemical coating process could offer. In particular this particular process reduces the maintenance levels required on the lines, stating that because of the lower chemical usage in the process safety levels could also be improved. He then gave an overview of the different types of coaters which are used elsewhere in the industry.

Fred Stimpson (Capital Steel) went on to deliver a paper on the distribution process, discussing the part Corus Colors can play within the chain when to delivering benefits directly to the customer, such as a detailed product understanding and the close involvement they have at the product innovation and development stages.

Nick Brown and Phil Green, both of BASF Coatings Ltd., gave the delegates an insight into what the future holds for colours, explaining that many of the trends we see coming through in today’s architecture come from the automotive industry. The presentation included case studies of buildings clad in some of the more innovative colour shades.

Then it was the turn of Wayne Forster, from the Welsh School of Architecture, who focused on the part steel cladding played in architecture. He looked at what inspired particular architects in their work, showcasing some particularly innovative buildings from around the globe. He looked at the way steel interacted with the elements and the environment it was in.

Mike Nevitt (Corus Kalzip) shared his thoughts on post-coaters and how they were not being pro-active enough in generating new business opportunities for metal treatments with the exception of one or two bright areas - in particular he referred to trends such as changing the appearance of metals to look like other metals, i.e. aluminium to zinc. He felt there was a general decline in the area of traditional finishes and stressed the underlying demand from specifiers who were trying to become more informed about the special treatments for metal finishes.

The delegates then had a chance to unwind and exchange views and opinions at an evening dinner held at Corus Colors Sports and Social Centre, which many agreed was an excellent chance for more insight into the different elements of the industry.

Day two started with Tim Cook, Reid & Sons Ltd., discussing the huge benefits of using steel in construction due to ease use handling and the speed of erection. Tim has used Colorcoat products many times in particular on a number of projects in the Caribbean where, due the tropical conditions, the correct specification of coating is critical.

The second day then went on to include a Corus Colors workshop tour hosted by Chris Ponting and Hugo van Loenen who took the delegates through various joining, fabrication & design processes, showing e xamples of newer uses of pre-finished metals.

Louise Wood from the Caravan Council then gave an overview of the market for aluminium within the caravan industry.

Yvonne Barcelona from ECCA then brought the proceedings to a close and d elegates who wished to attend were taken on a tour of the Shotton Colorcoat No.2 line.


Comments for the two days have been very positive with many of the delegates looking forward to future conferences. “T he conference was a success from a paper point of view with a good cross section of topics and well presented”. Other comments came from younger members of the association, “Being very new to the industry (about 8 months) it was good to get the views of others involved in the industry all the way from the paint manufacturers
through too end users, I really felt that I got a lot from it. The venue at Corus Colors was ideal as we were also able to take in the tour of the paint line”. One delegate described the event as ''a breath of fresh air ''.

In summary, Nick Brown, ECCA UK Chairman had the following to say about the 2 days, "The objective of the seminar was to get people together from all parts of the coil coating industry, in order for them to network and gain a better understanding of the industry and their role within it. I was delighted with the turn out and the quality of the presentations given. ECCA UK intend to run other seminars in the future and hope they will be equally as successful. The seminars are only one element of the work undertaken by the ECCA UK group. We are dedicated to improving the understanding of people within the industry and to promote pre-coatings in all its applications"

For more information on ECCA UK please contact:
ECCA UK Group
Dunelm House,
Ivydene Crescent
Chidham
West Sussex
PO18 8TR

Tel/Fax (01243) 572078
e mail secretary@ecca-uk.com