Hi-Tech Coatings International Limited
A talk by Steve Wagnall, Technical Director – October 2017
A fascinating talk on the formulation of clear coatings for the printing industry, i.e. magazine covers, food wrapping and packaging, used by a wide variety of enterprises to promote and brand their products was presented by Steve Wagnall to the Science and Technology Group at its meeting on Wednesday, 25 October.
Hi-Tech International Limited, with production plants in Aylesbury and Zwaag, Netherlands, together with a number of licenced units in other parts of the world, enjoys a prominent place in the U.K. market for the production of coatings, explained Steve. The Aylesbury plant imports its raw materials from Europe and employs a system of ‘roller coating’ to produce material according to the customer’s specific requirements. The manufacturing process is both automated and efficient, using pumps, pipes and mixing vessels. Very few operatives are required to intervene in the actual operation.
Particular attention is paid to quality control of each batch, for example, its viscosity, slip properties or heat resistance. Steve emphasized that the food industry is highly regulated with very rigid safety levels and coatings produced for food containers has to be carefully formulated. For example, a box for the chips used by many fast-food outlets needs to have a sufficiently robust barrier between the food and the container to ensure that it meets these strict regulations. (Preferably, it should also leave no ugly sign of fat residue in the empty container!)
The pros and cons of water-based coatings versus UV coatings were explained and the variety of uses to which each was best suited.
Steve then invited questions from the audience, of which there were a number from members who obviously had experience of the printing industry!
Thank you to Colin for finding this very interesting speaker.
Janet Cato – October 2017
Hi-Tech International Limited, with production plants in Aylesbury and Zwaag, Netherlands, together with a number of licenced units in other parts of the world, enjoys a prominent place in the U.K. market for the production of coatings, explained Steve. The Aylesbury plant imports its raw materials from Europe and employs a system of ‘roller coating’ to produce material according to the customer’s specific requirements. The manufacturing process is both automated and efficient, using pumps, pipes and mixing vessels. Very few operatives are required to intervene in the actual operation.
Particular attention is paid to quality control of each batch, for example, its viscosity, slip properties or heat resistance. Steve emphasized that the food industry is highly regulated with very rigid safety levels and coatings produced for food containers has to be carefully formulated. For example, a box for the chips used by many fast-food outlets needs to have a sufficiently robust barrier between the food and the container to ensure that it meets these strict regulations. (Preferably, it should also leave no ugly sign of fat residue in the empty container!)
The pros and cons of water-based coatings versus UV coatings were explained and the variety of uses to which each was best suited.
Steve then invited questions from the audience, of which there were a number from members who obviously had experience of the printing industry!
Thank you to Colin for finding this very interesting speaker.
Janet Cato – October 2017