Feb 1 2010
Emphasing the value of quality is the key concern for both paints and coatings manufacturers and applicators alike in the Middle East region.
According to recent research from Frost & Sullivan, the Middle East's paints and coatings industry is set to reach $2.7 billion by 2014 spurred largely by investment in large-scale infrastructural and industrial projects. But ensuring such paints and coatings solutions are both fit-for-purpose and properly applied will be vital if contractors and end-clients are to reap the rewards of technology innovations in this area.
Jorgen Olsson is Coatings Manager for the Steel Works Division at Amana Contracting, the regional leader in the designbuild of industrial and commercial facilities with over 1500 buildings constructed across the region. He has been working in the region for the last 13 years and as such is well-placed to comment on how the coatings industry has matured over that time. He feels that although price is still important, the region is increasingly looking to quality as it seeks to deliver worldclass structures and developments. "The cost of both paint and supplier have obviously been a huge concern during the last year given the economic situation - especially in Dubai," he says. "Nonetheless, oil and gas firms and specified infrastructure companies are still willing to pay for quality paint and applications as they know the cost impact of a breakdown onsite."
Olsson explains that there are a number of specific types of lucrative coating work in the region. The first is in the oil and gas/petrochemicals industry, where big companies such as Saudi Aramco, GASCO, ADNOC and Borouge have excellent specifications for coating and fireproofing developed after the American and European standards drawn up over the last 20 years. "The specifications are prepared by educated technical service engineers in oilfield services," he says. "All paint manufacturers must be vendor-approved and pre-qualified, and even specific products need to be approved and tested by the end client. Applicators also need to be vender-approved, and prove that risk assessment and safety are integral parts of their approach."
The other key area for the use of coatings is in infrastructure development. "Special projects such as Yas Island and Ferrari Experience, as well as major infrastructure developments such as bridges, are always specified and project managed by big international companies," he explains. "Therefore the use of specifications, quality inspection and documentation is really taking off in this region. Mostly the paint specification comes from the structural consultants in America or Europe, and then as local applicators we recommend which system to use after considering local environments and conditions."
Amana is now coating for three main contractors at Ferrari Experience, including 60-minute fire proofing of the main structural steel. Most of the structural steel for clients (usually consultants) in this region is recommended to use a high durability coating designed for environments classified by ISO 12944-2 as C5-1 very high corrosivity (Industrial).
Olsson believes a key concern in this region is that the quality of local paint products and application is poor. He observes that some small local coating companies have been found to paint directly onto raw steel (complete with the mill scale) and without cleaning the base material first. "This is not good practice and quality suffers as a result," he says. "Naturally such practices are cheaper than preparing the surface correctly, and for an untrained or absent client all he sees is the bottom line. In addition, the coated item may be hidden from view during service so any deterioration is not noticed until it is too late."
In contrast, professional companies have codes of practice to which they work, and employ trained and internationally certified inspectors who control all aspects of the coating process from cleaning the base material to monitoring all the parameters during the coating process to ensure the client gets the best possible result. "Naturally, doing the job right first time saves money in the long-term, because maintenance is reduced," says Olsson. "In addition the larger paint suppliers prefer to recommend professional applicators, because whenever there is a problem with the coating the first to be blamed is the coating manufacturer rather than the applicator."
Despite such concerns, there are still some owners and contractors for whom the initial cost is key. "They believe that the building should look good when handed over and very little thought seems to be given to the cost of long-term maintenance," says Olsson. "It is almost as if the owners consider that the laws of chemistry do not apply and corrosion will not take place, or perhaps they anticipate that the building will be sold before any expensive maintenance is required."
Olsson believes that most of the time, poor quality comes down to lack of know-how regarding coating. "There are many civil engineers but hardly any NACE or SSSP certified coating inspectors," he says. Such ignorance as to the importance of paints and coatings can be witnessed in the sad story of one of the largest steel suppliers in the Middle East, which invested $4.6 million in a new fabrication shop two years ago but failed to provide any investment for a complementary paint shop. "All the steel they fabricate is coated out in the open area," exclaims Olsson incredulously.
Alongside this quality drive, Olsson believes the other major development to hit the region is that of sustainability. "Going green with paints and applications is a big trend right now," he says. "I completed the USGBC's Green Building Design: The LEED Implementation Process certification in October and the market for green building is going to be big over the coming years. For example, Amana is doing coating and fire proofing for Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. "Masdar is a major development not just for Abu Dhabi but internationally," he says. "Lessons learned here will be implemented worldwide.
The coating work at Masdar requires the use of modern water-based products with no VOCs. In addition to the materials used, Olsson explains how new green procedures are also being developed to minimise the impact of the work on site. "For example, there will be minimal packaging materials and recycling of containers to reduce the overall waste. For the operators and labour, care is taken to provide the most eco-friendly coveralls avoiding disposable plastics. Even nonworking activities are considered - disposable drinking cups are banned and each man is provided with his own re-usable mess kit, to be carried in fabric, re-usable bags and not in plastic bags from local supermarkets. Masdar is not just about products and working methods, it is a whole new way of thinking that is being pioneered here in Abu Dhabi," he concludes.
Source: http://www.amanabuildings.com/