Beckers have developed the first commercial paint formulations for ultraviolet and electron-beam curing in the coil coating market. The game-changing technologies can significantly reduce CO2 emissions and enhance efficiency in the industry.
Beckers have been involved in adapting the use of ultraviolet (UV) and electron-beam (EB) curing technology in the coil coating industry and developing the necessary paint formulations since 2005. Today, the company is actively developing UV/EB curing solutions with coil coating customers around the world – with some now in the process of gearing up for market.
Beckers have a UV/EB coil coating development lab at their site in Montbrison, France. The team has demonstrated that UV/EB curing has significant potential to reduce the CO2 footprint of coil coating, as it requires much less paint and energy in the curing process. “UV/EB curing allows us to use up to 100 per cent solid solvent-free formulations that provide up to twice the surface coverage per kilogram of paint,” says Gavin Bown, CTO at Beckers.
“Compared with conventional gas-fired curing, the UV/EB cold curing process also uses much less energy, facilitates the transition from natural gas to renewable electricity, avoids the use of expensive gas, and does not require water for cooling.”
Beckers are currently working with customers that are fully replacing their conventional coil coating lines with UV/EB curing or retrofitting existing lines. Others are adding additional coating steps or partially switching to UV/EB on their existing lines.
Long-term collaboration between Beckers and one of their customers has led to the first ever full-scale application of advanced UV/EB curing technology in the coil coating industry.
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