’Qualicoat’s AGM’
July 2015

Qualicoat UK & Ireland members recently gathered at the Metalforming Centre in West Bromwich for their 2015 AGM. There was a good turnout and Chairman Alan Maginnis welcomed all to the meeting. Members were reporting that business had significantly increased over the last twelve months and signs were that growth was sustainable for the foreseeable future.

Chrome free pretreatment was discussed in some depth as the sunset date for phasing out chromium based pretreatment systems was rapidly approaching in 2017.

There was some discussion of the resilience of chrome free systems. However Qualicoat President, Mo Panam has confirmed that there had been no test sample failures reported in the UK during routine inspection for either chrome or non-chrome Qualicoat approved pretreatment systems.

There were potential six new members considering membership of Qualicoat UK & Ireland, with two companies having preliminary inspections imminent. IFO, the UK & Ireland independent coatings testing house, confirmed that during the first round of unannounced routine inspections in 2015, there had been no inspection failures.

The AGM reappointed Chairman for his second year Alan Maginnis of Sprint Coatings and appointed Wade Lock of Vertik-Al as Vice Chairman.

Finally there was some breaking news from Qualicoat that the 2016 Qualicoat International Congress was to be held in London on the 17th & 18th May at the Millennium Hotel. Delegates would have the opportunity of listening to some of the top speakers on architectural coatings as well as attending a dinner cruise on the Thames. More information will be available later in the year.

In the UK, Qualicoat UK & Ireland represent the interests of the majority of powder coaters. Meetings are regularly held and presentations of specific items of interest help members keep up with current legislation and technology. Working together on research projects, the UK groups work hand in hand with the wider Qualicoat global community, results of which feed into frequent reviews of the Qualicoat standard applicable to all members. To ensure any project benefits from the quality and consistency that Qualicoat can offer, simply specify a Qualicoat approved supplier when specifying any architectural aluminium fenestration profiles.

A copy of Qualicoat’s 2014 Annual Report is available on the Qualicoat UK & Ireland website as a PDF download.

www.qualicoatuki.org
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