Makeover transforms FP Advanced Coatings powder coat line

FP Advanced Coatings Limited has been busy creating quality powder coatings for garden furniture, architectural products, automotive and construction vehicle components for more than 10 years. Our clients demand the very best in finish and service and we are proud that we offer that in spades. 

But, as a business with 40 years worth of experience in electrocoating, we didn’t want to rest on our laurels, constantly looking at ways to innovate, improve quality and efficiency all with one eye on what we can do to be more sustainable. 

With this in mind, there have been major changes across the board that will futureproof the business and ensure that our growing customer needs are met. 

Efficiency in powder coating

Over the last ten years our powder coating lines have become increasingly busy – operating 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. The lines were running at 1.2 metres per min and colour changes would take around 40 mins. The whole process was physically demanding and we needed to look at ways that we could streamline what we did. 

As a result, we made two significant changes directly to the line. We installed a Gema automatic powder facility with a quick colour change system that also has an automatic sensing system whilst also making speed modifications to the plant. 

The result of this change has been astronomical. 

The plant is now running at 2m per minute and the colour change process takes us just 9 minutes. The time savings that we are making means that we can deliver projects faster and more efficiently than ever before and as a result, we are seeing a 35% uplift in productivity!

The finish that we are also seeing is smoother and the quality is much better. 

You may think that this has had a detrimental impact on the workforce. On the contrary, we have in fact increased the workforce from 8 to 12 people which is great news for the local economy and for the business which is seeing an increase in staff across the board.

Sustainability in powder coating

On top of the direct changes to the line, we’ve also been able to make some changes that will benefit the environment too.  

The Government’s net carbon zero policy commits us all to consider the impact that we have on the environment and about the sustainability journey that we should be taking for the future of the business and the planet. 

The recent changes to the powder coating lines have meant that we have seen a 120% reduction in the amount of powder that we are having to discard when we need to change colours at the end of a run. We have also installed a Adhesion Promoter No Rinse (APNR) system to the line which ensures that our powder paint finishes can withstand up to 1200 hours of corrosive exposure. Again, this is great news for the life span of our products resulting in less waste. 

The plant itself is also now powered by photovoltaic array panels so even though the process of powder coating is more automated, it’s greener for the planet. 

We are really excited with the initial steps we have taken to become more sustainable as a business. While we still have additional steps to make in future, we are thrilled to be taking the plant into a greener and more efficient place which is better for the planet, our staff and for our customers.