Working In The Industry
- The Coatings Sector
- Coatings Sector Statistics (2006)
- Working in the Coatings Manufacturing Industry
- Supply and Demand
- Jobs in the Coatings Manufacturing Sector
- Coatings Manufacture and our Environment
- Qualifications and Skills Valued by Coatings Manufacturing Sector Employers
- Personal Learning and Thinking Skills
- How Coatings are Made
Coatings Manufacture and our Environment
The Coatings Manufacturing Industry takes its responsibilities towards the environment very seriously. The industry’s Coatings Care® programme shows how the industry's environmental performance is continually improving, including reductions in the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) released during the manufacturing process and reductions in the use of energy. The industry has also developed a labelling system to help provide more information to the public when buying paints. This helps them select the coating that is best for the job, which will provide longer lasting protection, leading to reduced waste. Major technical advances in water-borne coatings (reducing the use of solvents) and radiation cured coatings have, and will continue to have, an even more positive environmental impact.
Coatings businesses employ laboratory technicians and product technologists, who work continually to improve and develop new coatings, while designing manufacturing processes that minimise environmental impact. An example of how a coating can protect, whilst providing a decorative finish, is a wood care product. These enhance the grain of the wood they are applied to and at the same time can be designed to seal the wood against corrosive damage caused by insects or damp. Corrosive damage can shorten the life of a product, leading to a need for early disposal and replacement. Non recyclable products that are damaged by corrosion can be sent to landfill sites, which impacts on our environment, so work on developing protective coatings is essential. Other examples of coatings that protect against corrosion are:
- Special paints used to protectively wrap the 7 million rivets on the Forth Railway Bridge
- Two layers of protective coatings are applied to 2.2 millions miles of fibre optic cable laid by BT
- Two tons of special paint are applied to bodywork of Jumbo jets, to protect against the extremely cold temperatures planes endure at high altitude
- Bolts used on motorway flyovers, road barriers and railway bridges are coated to protect against corrosion
- Ships and boats – coated to protect from the corrosive effects of sea water
