Garnalex has gained a Qualicoat Seaside Class licence for optional powder coating protection when in more exposed conditions, such as within 5km of a coastline.

Martin Froggatt, Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality Manager at Garnalex, commented: “This ensures our products are manufactured to the highest standards for use in seaside and coastal environments and provides the highest levels of quality assurance and confidence for our customers.”

Introduced in 2008, Qualicoat began to offer a ‘Seaside Class’ of powder coating where the minimum removal of aluminium surface is increased from 1g/sm to 2g/sm using a dip or spray process of either an acid or a combination acid/alkaline etch. This deeper etch removes more contaminants and therefore offers a more robust pretreatment for areas where local atmospheres carry corrosive salts (chlorides) and other aggressive pollutants.