A coffin manufacturer heading for its permit ceiling
This is the clearest full conversion we have done. The business was growing, its solvent use was growing with it, and a visit from the local authority confirmed that carrying on would take it past its permitted VOC limits. That put a ceiling on expansion.
The whole finishing range moved from acid-catalysed solvent products to water-based Hesse products, taking VOC content from around 60% to approximately 3%. Formaldehyde from the coating was eliminated. Hazardous waste came down, partly because a one-component system removed the need to mix before use.
What it took to get there is the part worth reading. Drying time was the main technical challenge, and the answer was capital: heated drying rooms, ovens and dedicated drying equipment, plus new air-assisted airless pumps. Production times were held rather than improved, and the finish came out better than the system it replaced.
A joinery manufacturer that did not go water-based
Worth including because not every answer is conversion. This customer was losing spraying time to slow drying and had drawn odour complaints from neighbouring businesses. The fix was a change of solvent system rather than a move to water-based: aromatic isocyanates out, aliphatic in, and four coats down to three.
The bigger finding had nothing to do with the coating. The sprayer was properly protected; two people working alongside him were not. Nobody had raised it.
What these have in common
In both cases the coating was not really the problem. One needed capital investment in drying and air movement, the other needed a different chemistry and a hard look at who was breathing what. The product change was the easy part.
That is why we assess the workshop before recommending anything. If we had sold the coffin manufacturer water-based coatings and left them to it, the line would have slowed down and the conversion would have been judged a failure.
Interested in reviewing your finishing process?
Get in touch with the Redwood team on 02392 233310 or email [email protected] to arrange an initial conversation.