CCS HOT NEWS

Prepainted Metal Increases Profits and Helps the Environment

Factories that switch to prepainted metal are gaining a new competitive edge: energy savings. Outsourcing paint operations, via prepainted metal, can dramatically reduce a manufacturer’s total energy consumption. With prepainted metal, the coil coater assumes the energy costs needed to coat the metal and, thanks to coil coating’s highly efficient processes, uses less total energy, cutting energy demands for the manufacturer…and the planet. This makes prepainting a unique solution that can increase your profits while helping our environment.

In addition to energy savings, converting to the coil coating process further helps reduce costs for manufacturers by eliminating the time and hassles associated with EPA filing requirements and permits associated with vapor degreasers, paint booths, and washers. This helps manufacturers and our environment in the following ways:

• Reduces waste handling costs
• Eases burden of record keeping, reports and permits
• Curbs water usage
• Lowers maintenance costs

For years, coil coaters have worked to reduce waste and emissions with the latest technology and ongoing field research. Because of these efforts, coil coating is the most efficient process known for applying finishes to metals. Coil coating manufacturing facilities utilize state-of-the-art processes that employ EPA-approved water and pollution equipment to apply coatings to metal at high speeds with minimal environmental impact.

The National Coil Coating Association (NCCA) is committed to making manufacturers more efficient, profitable, and environmentally friendly. The NCCA’s Environmental Stewardship Committee continues to research and implement new ideas to build on the coated coil industry’s environmental benefits.

With the help of the NCCA and coil coating technology, now going green can help manufacturers stay in the black.

To learn more about coil coating’s green benefits, visit www.coilcoatinginstitute.org and view the NCCA’s Online Tutorial “Energy and Environmental Benefits of Prepaint.”

Jim Dockey is the Sales & Marketing Manager for CENTRIA Coating Services, and an active member of the National Coil Coating Association's marketing committee.

Governor's Award for Excellence

CENTRIA Coil Coating Services was honored with a Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence at the company’s Ambridge, PA, production facility, May 23, 2006, by Pennsylvania’s Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty.

CENTRIA Coil Coating Service’s Ambridge location completed an oven and line speed upgrade, increasing the throughput of the Ambridge paint line while minimizing the use of natural gas, resulting in energy savings. These upgrades have also increased CENTRIA’s capacity by 33-percent.

“CENTRIA is committed to efficient coil coating practices that benefit our customers and our environment,” explains Jim Dockey, Director of Sales and Marketing, CENTRIA Coil Coating Services. “We are proud to be recognized among the state’s top environmentally conscience businesses. The Ambridge changes are a part of a larger three-phased upgrade that has increased capacity and efficiency, and improved customer service.”

CENTRIA Coil Coating Services is one of 12 Pennsylvania companies to receive this award which recognizes businesses and organizations that put in place projects addressing environmental problems in ways that build new businesses, enhance the bottom line and engage residents in a renewed commitment to investing in their communities.

The Department of Environmental Protection received 78 applications for the 2005 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. Applications were evaluated according to overall environmental benefit, public service, economic impact, use of innovative technology, and teamwork and environmental education and outreach.

In January 2006, CENTRIA Coil Coating Services began upgrades to drives, motors, PLC’s, hydraulics, and accumulator towers, and the installation of new coater heads as part of the Phase II upgrade. The project increases CENTRIA’s overall coil coating capacity and is part of CENTRIA’s continued focus on high-quality pre-paint requirements along with unmatched customer service and flexibility.

Ambridge Phase II is the third series of improvements to CENTRIA’s coating lines. The first occurred in 2004, upgrading the width and speed of their Cambridge, OH, coating line. Ambridge’s Phase I was completed in mid-2005 with production improvements including the installation of new ovens, an oxidizer, a coil splicer and improved coil-handling capabilities. Also in 2005, the facility constructed new offices and completed an overall exterior renovation. CENTRIA Coil Coating Services has undergone Six Sigma, Kaizen, and 5S training and has implemented those techniques and principles into their business at all levels.

CENTRIA has more than 40 years experience in providing coil coating services in a range of industries and coats aluminum, carbon steel, galvanized steel, Galvalume®, stainless steel, and zinc-aluminum alloys, with a broad variety of coatings for one-sided, two-sided, or multi-layer coating. Coatings CENTRIA applies include acrylic, silicone polyester, epoxy, vinyl, fluoropolymer, metallic fluoropolymer, plastisol, urethane, manual- and solution-strippable films and others.

Headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, CENTRIA Coil Coating Services operates coil coating lines in Cambridge, OH, and Ambridge, PA. For more information about CENTRIA Coating Services call 1- 800-759-7474 ext. 8287 or visit www.centria.com.