‘Barley Chalu Awarded
QUALANOD Licence’
March 2018

Barley Chalu are pleased to announce that they have been awarded QUALANOD licence no. 1308 for their new, state of the art, anodising plant in Wymondham, Norwich. One of only four licence holders in the UK and the first in over 30 years, Barley Chalu are the only company in the UK who holds both the QUALANOD licence and QUALICOAT licence for architectural powder coating.

QUALANOD is a quality label organisation committed to maintaining and promoting the quality of anodised aluminium. To determine the quality of the finished anodised aluminium surface, the results need to be measurable against a technical specification. QUALANOD regularly update and issue their standard, ‘Specifications for the QUALANOD Quality Label for Sulphuric Acid-Based Anodizing of Aluminium’ with the current version recently released in January 2017. The specification ensures verified compliance with ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity Assessment — ‘Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services’.

As an Association, the QUALANOD specification is compiled and updated by its own global membership and active working groups. Membership currently stands at about 185 licensees distributed across 30 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.

On behalf of its interested parties, QUALANOD defines comprehensive quality requirements and also monitors the compliance by licensed plants world-wide by using third party, independent, test houses. As a result, purchasers of anodised aluminium receive a premium-grade product delivering long-term value with excellent quality. In the past few years QUALANOD has made a huge contribution to assuring the quality of aluminium parts used in many high end-markets.

As licence holders of both QUALANOD and QUALICOAT, Barley Chalu now offer the most comprehensive range of aluminium finishes from any UK finishing company; finishes which are suitable for high end architectural applications and for use in the home improvement markets in the UK, and overseas.

As a member of both these associations, an independent test house undertakes unannounced inspections of Barley Chalu’s finishing plant at regular intervals, these invited inspections are paid for in full by the member company, in this case Barley Chalu. Similar to a health check, failing on any one issue could lead to the loss of a licence if the issue is not resolved very quickly. The importance of a licence as opposed to just finishing to a British Standard is this third-party accreditation which is very important for the customer. It is therefore crucial that the company you choose to undertake the specified finish clearly shows this expertise in all that they do.

Barley Chalu place a great deal of emphasis on not just the surface quality, but the whole finishing process. This attention to detail and quality, ensures a long sustainable lifetime for the finish provided.

There certainly has been ‘an anodising renaissance’ over the last few years with specifiers seeking alternative finishes to powder coating. Anodising is a more natural finish for aluminium and can be supplied in various subtle shades. The anodising itself is a clear layer of aluminium oxide which is part of the aluminium’s surface and not a coating. By introducing a metal in the anodising process, such as tin, into the ‘pores’ of the aluminium oxide, various shades can be achieved all of which are optically created and are 100% stable against any fading or surface weathering. It’s therefore not surprising that architects are once more looking at utilising an anodised finish for high end projects in the UK and overseas.

There is also a further benefit of having an anodising plant and powder coating plant running together, and that is the ability to pre-anodise aluminium as a pretreatment to powder coating. As anodising is a part of the aluminium itself, as opposed to a normal chrome or chrome-free applied pretreatment, it is recognised as being a superior pre-treatment for powder coating. This is only successful if the powder coating can be applied within a very short time after being anodised, as the anodised surface is left unsealed for the powder coating to ‘key’ on to the anodising. The resulting powder coated surface is highly resistant to ‘filiform’ corrosion especially where cut edges are present in a fabricated system.

Barley Chalu is the only finisher to offer pre-anodising in the UK as a pretreatment with a Seaside Endorsement from QUALICOAT. This is an option over the company’s standard pretreatment system. This further emphasises the company’s commitment in the UK as a producer of quality architectural finishes.

As specifiers become more aware of the importance of selecting the correct finish for the architectural application, anodising or powder coating, they are seeking guidance on the correct standards and specification. Specifying QUALANOD for anodising and QUALICOAT for powder coating ensures that the finish will meet the highest standards and consistency. Barley Chalu are becoming more involved in projects at early design stages where the specifier and client seek the highest quality of finish with minimal maintenance and greatest life expectancy. Being in a position to offer both major finishing options for architectural aluminium ensures that the advice given by Barley Chalu is both generic and impartial.

The awareness of QUALANOD and QUALICOAT and the importance of licence holders will continue to grow in the UK and as specifiers understand better the qualities attainable. Increasingly specifications will request licence holder supply to ensure quality. Specifiers will also seek direct guidance form specialists in the UK such as Barley Chalu for guidance on choice and assurances.

www.barleychalu.co.uk