10C — August 2023 — Owners, Developers & Managers — M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
O wners , D evelopers & M anagers
By Steve Chen, Crystal Window & Door Systems The value of powder coating architectural aluminum façade building products
T he advantages of pow- der coating are nu- merous for aluminum
b u i l d i n g products. Powder coat- ing offers excellent fin - ish, strong performance, and cus- tomization, while provid-
Steve Chen
ing a more environmentally sustainable and cost- effective solution for long term dura- bility. These advantages are crucial to the architectural industry since environmental concerns and building con- struction and maintenance costs are ever-increasing. All building aluminum architec- tural elements such as window or door frames, storefront systems, curtain wall struc- tures, façade panels, railings, fencing, column covers, light fixtures, and other decorative components are enhanced with powder coating finish. Powder coating has been popular for the architectural sector in Europe since the 1970s when environmen- tal issues began moving to the forefront in the design and construction industries. Increasingly over the past two decades, design and con- struction professionals in the US and other parts of the world have begun to embrace powder coating for the built environment. This is primar- ily due to coating technology improvements making powder coating of aluminum superior to wet paint finishing in most applications, as well as the drive for greater sustainabil- ity and cost containment in manufacturing processes. Market Growth for Architectural Products With enhanced awareness within the design and construc- tion community of its benefits, powder coating for aluminum architectural products has enjoyed substantial growth in recent years. As cities and states across the country enact more aggressive environmental codes and architects specify products with greater sus- tainability in building design, building product manufactur- ers are evaluating cradle-to- grave implications of their products. For aluminum prod- uct finishing processes, powder coating offers substantial envi- ronmental benefits over liquid
Powder coating for aluminum architectural building products offers many environmental benefits over liquid paint. Shown here are several projects using Crystal Windows products in a variety of custom and standard colors.
paint finishes, including: • low Volatile Organic Com - pounds (VOCs) and no toxic compounds in powder coatings • single coat factory applica - tion and no jobsite application required • powder overspray reclama - tion and reuse • non-chrome pretreatment of aluminum • superior scratch, weather, and corrosion resistance for long term durability • superior color and gloss retention • lower temperature curing with lower energy costs • no hazardous production waste • EPA recommended • LEED point contribution Vertical Integration In 2003, my firm Crystal Window & Door Systems pur - chased an existing aluminum fabrication facility in Union, MO, with the goals of vertically integrating operations and controlling quality and cost for its growing aluminum window product lines. Today, Crystal’s subsidiary Gateway Extrusions offers extrusion, fabrication, and finishing services for a wide range of aluminum products. Building product manu- facturers such as Crystal Windows that have experi- ence with powder coating operations, especially with their own powder coating facilities, can provide valu- able insights and recom- mendations to architects, specifiers, developers, and contractors on the types of finishes available.
line. Vertical lines are most cost effective for finishers with high volume, large batch jobs. Supplier Partnerships Building strong relation- ships with powder suppliers and application equipment manufacturers is critical for powder coating finishers. Crystal Windows and Gate- way use a network of leading national powder suppliers who provide state-of-the-art formulations and essential on- site technical support, keeping operations flowing smoothly and efficiently. Several challenges to the current supply chain in the powder coating industry dem- onstrate how important these relationships are. Raw materi- al shortages and cost inflation over the past two years has raised costs for powder com- ponents such as resins, cur- ing agents, and pigments and forced many powder suppliers to put customers on alloca- tion. This has caused greater lead times for product finish - ers providing a wide range of aluminum building products and increased costs and sur- charges. To mitigate this for example, suppliers for Crystal Windows and Gateway have purchased and maintained additional raw material sup- plies to keep their customers stocked and costs relatively stable and predictable. Another advantage powder coating has over liquid paint arises from the competition across many other industries for resin raw materials. Prod- ucts such as solar panels used to power smaller products,
medical devices, electronic equipment, and Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles also use resin and this puts tremendous strain on resin component availability. This primarily impacts liquid paint supply, which can require five times the high-demand resin components as powder. The Future of Powder Coating for Façade Products Façade product powder coat- ing will continue to grow due to its superior performance and “green” characteristics. Architects are increasingly aware that powder coating can perform well in even the most severe climates – harsh sun, salt air and spray, and tem- perature extremes – and they will continue to specify powder coating to protect aluminum windows and other façade ele- ments. Building product man- ufacturers will seek powder coating fabricators certified for AAMA durability perfor- mance standards 2603, 2604, and 2605 to meet this demand. They will also promote their powder coated products as the more sustainable choice, helping building construc- tion and renovation projects earn LEED points and meet sustainability goals across the country, with independent lab testing to demonstrate the powder coating finish level of aluminum architectural prod- ucts. The future for architec- tural product powder coating is bright. Steve Chen is president of Crystal Window & Door Systems. MAREJ
From Paint to Powder Initially, Gateway’s alumi- num extrusions were finished with liquid paint, as was typi - cal of the industry. However, soon after starting operations, the company opted to replace the paint line with a new more modern powder coat system. Gateway’s powder coat line enables the company to accom- modate demand for more con- sistent finish quality, longer profiles, and faster turnaround in the architectural market. Powder coating equipment comes in horizontal and verti- cal configurations, each with benefits. Horizontal powder coat systems permit even coating of large flat compo- nents, such as shutters and panels, or smaller components such as fence caps and light fixtures regardless of orien - tation on the line. They are ideal for finishing companies handling smaller batch jobs, shorter lengths of aluminum extrusions, and frequent color changes. They are also well suited for production facilities with limited ceiling height, without the same level of capi- tal investment required for vertical powder coat systems. Vertical powder coating lines (which Gateway utilizes) offer faster production speeds, can handle longer components, and require less floor space for pre-treatment, powder appli- cation, and drying than hori- zontal lines. They do require significantly greater ceiling heights however – Gateway had to build an addition with a 50-foot ceiling height to ac- commodate its new vertical
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online