Since 2010, office life at the thyssenkrupp headquarters in Essen has been taking place behind an attractive steel facade. ‘Ordinary visitors,’ mainly notice the headquarters’ stylish, imposing, and exclusive exterior, while specialists would take a closer look at the champagne-colored facade and discover steel panel rainscreen cladding – and a pladur® product.
“We could also choose a colorful facade or one that looks like natural wood,” says Sales Manager Axel Pohl from thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, who, among other things, is also responsible for all of the company’s organic coil-coated pladur®® products. The steel manufacturer has color experts working at a total of three coil coating systems located in Duisburg as well as in the Siegerland region.
“To meet the individual needs and expectations of our customers, we have tailored our sales to accommodate the various relevant industries,” says Pohl. The core market consists of the construction and garage door industries as well as the utility vehicle and household appliance industries.
pladur® offers freedom for design inspiration
pladur® facades are weather-resistant and stand the test of time so that buildings retain their value. The product successfully combines high-quality flat steel with an organic coating. This inspired aesthetic gives the buildings a unique, attractive appearance while effectively protecting them from corrosion and UV radiation.
Customers can choose between paint, foil, or a combination of both coatings – anything is possible. Customers can also choose colors from nearly the entire standardized RAL and NCS color ranges in addition to metallic tones, and select from a wide range of gloss and matte finishes.
The company also produces precision textured surfaces such as stone, terracotta, and wood, offering customers a nearly endless array of different design options.
Highly functional material
The materials can take on a number of properties depending on the application in question. For example, some coatings are particularly easy to clean – even when it comes to removing graffiti – and other coatings are designed to absorb moisture. The general ease of processing of the material offers an additional advantage. Special custom-built elements are just as easy to manufacture as standard components.
In short, the organically coated steel sheet can be curved, stretched, or bent to fit the individual application. It can be shaped, cut, joined, or adhered to other elements as needed – all without cracking the material or compromising the stability of the facade. The product also offers excellent value compared with conventional materials.
Rust doesn’t stand a chance
In the area of garage doors and utility vehicles, it is also important to provide customers with a wide range of colors and surface finishes, and work to incorporate new properties as they arise.
The materials used in sectional, up and over, roller, or hangar doors must be absolutely resistant against abrasion, scratching, stains, and wear. The same applies to utility vehicles, which travel hundreds of kilometers on expressways and rural roads every day.
The most important property in these types of applications is corrosion protection, which can be achieved using a specialized coating formula along with the hot-dip galvanizing process, for example, using our ZM Ecoprotect® zinc-magnesium coating.
Final coating delivered free of charge
The primary materials used to make household appliances are also becoming more functional and more creative. White goods were yesterday – today’s washing machines, dish washers, and refrigerators are becoming more and more colorful and underscore the creativity of the owner.
There are now washing machines equipped with steel casings decorated in the style of a batik, and extra-large American-style refrigerators that look as though they were made of stainless steel but are completely fingerprint-resistant. There are also dishwashers that bring the elegance of copper or wood into the kitchen.
It is often far more affordable for customers to have the steel manufacturer produce the necessary surfaces using the coil coating process. They can then use this material to produce the end product. This way, they can avoid the expensive, labor-intensive process of coating the individual pieces later on.
