Belgium-based Iris NV has expanded its use of metal spraying process in its industrial activities, and has purchased additional Metallisation equipment to help facilitate this expansion.
Iris was founded in 1946 as an industrial painting company specialising in the treatment of gas pipes, electrical stations, high tension networks and power pylons.
The services offered by Iris became very popular, very quickly, throughout Belgium and it responded by expanding its services to include the protection of bridges and train stations.
The company has continued to develop over the years and, in the late 1990s, built a brand new workshop measuring 100m by 20m, to enable the company to handle structures weighing up to 35t and measuring 35m2.
Iris is now one of the leading companies in Belgium providing surface treatment, particularly anti-corrosion, to all types of structures.
Recently two of its most important clients, both in the petrochemical industry, requested metal spraying for a number of vessels and columns.
Iris has been treating one of those clients’ pressure vessels, storage tanks and silos since 1964, so has an excellent understanding of the anti corrosion requirements.
Metal spraying was the natural development for the protection of these vessels and tanks, as it’s proven to be a very robust coating solution for protecting against corrosion under insulation (CUI) of refinery / process plant vessels and steel fabrications. Both Shell and Exxon Mobil have embraced this process for the protection of steelwork against CUI applications.
As a result of the increased demands by many of its clients Iris decided, under the guidance of the workshop foreman, to teach more of its operators how to metal spray. The additional operators underwent an intense training course and completed the necessary qualifications to become proficient metal sprayers.
This was critical to the client’s demands and specifications. It also ensured more members of the team now meet all of the industry standards and have an excellent understanding of all aspects of metal spraying.
Prior to spraying the distillation columns, for one of its petrochemical clients, the surface was prepared by grit blasting with steel grit to SA 2.5, with a surface roughness between 75µm and 110µm.
This was then arc sprayed with aluminium Grade 1350 to a thickness of 250µm. A seal coat was then applied to the columns with Sigmatherm paint to a thickness of 25µm.
To meet this high demand Iris is now experiencing from its clients’, the company has purchased an additional system, to add to the five Metallisation systems it already uses.
The new system, the Metallisation Arc140 / S350-CL, will be located in the workshop, where two existing systems are in constant use. The other four machines are frequently used on the job.
In the field Iris also uses the wire flame spray equipment. By investing in this extra, state of the art, metal spray equipment the company can now specialise even more in this technique.
By specialising in metal spraying Iris is able to treat all kinds of materials under different, more complicated circumstances.
Iris believes in and trusts these long standing techniques, such as aluminium metal spray (TSA), and is happy that this will ensure its leading position in the industrial painting industry.
For further information on these products or more details on the thermal spray process please contact Metal Spray Supplies Australia via the enquiries form.