THE BUSINESS OF VISCOSITY BLOG

In order to stay competitive, coil coaters are continuously working to implement leaner operations with the goal of optimizing the throughput in their coating systems. These objectives would seem to be in direct contrast to the marketplace, which is demanding more frequent deliveries of smaller and smaller batches – often of custom colors – which all suggest less efficient operations.

Enter SCS’ innovative coating technology, the Profile Correction Module (PCM).

With the coil coating marketplace, including industrial coating industries, moving in the direction of more frequent deliveries of smaller and smaller lot sizes, often involving custom colors, the importance of color changes, setups and quality checks has never been greater.

Addressing these requirements in a time of increasing price pressure requires a re-examination of the whole coating application process to ensure that only the best practices and most reliable coating technology are being employed.

Dealing with partial drum storage and handling is the bane of everyone in industrial coating industries, but it is greater for coil coaters than for any other industrial finishing method. The increased number of partial drums generated in the coil coating process represents a significant overhead cost in a low-margin process. In order to deal with the problem, it is important to understand where and how these originate.

Setups are the bane of every coil coater. They are required for every color and/or product change. In addition to “setups," some folks call them “color changes," others call them “clean-ups," but whatever you call them, they add cost to running your line and, in a time when job sizes are shrinking and color changes are becoming more prevalent, these are increasing the operating costs of all coating systems.

By adding Saint Clair Systems' Profile Correction Module (PCM) to your coil coating technology arsenal, you will be able to drive down the number of setups and quality checks you need to do.

The demand for coil coating has increased significantly, yet there remains excess capacity in the marketplace, so being a strong global competitor is a challenge. These truths have changed the metal coating industry, with downward price pressure making it more difficult than ever to stay profitable and successful.

In typical industrial coating and coil coating process, drums – partial or full – are brought to the line at the beginning of a job. This is where it all begins. As the coating is consumed, empty drums are taken from the line. Empty drums are the goal. They are easy and relatively inexpensive to dispose of. In fact, many coating suppliers have recycling programs set up to make the process even easier.

Custom color orders place unique demands on coil coaters – and it seems that virtually all of them consume time. Let’s look at the three ways that custom colors suck up available run time from your operation:

1. Cleaning

Color changes are becoming more frequent for all industrial finishers and coating systems, but nowhere is it more apparent than with coil coaters. Saint Clair Systems' Mark Portelli notes:

“While Coil Coaters are focusing on leaner operations to achieve real cost reductions…their customers are demanding higher quality, smaller lot sizes, and more frequent shipments – which would tend to reduce efficiency and drive an increase in cleaning costs.”