NLMK Group, an international steelmaking company with operations in Russia, the USA and European Union, has taken steps to improve customer service by introducing guarantees of the decorative and protective properties of polymer coatings, which range from 10 to 35 years.
The guarantee of the longevity of the polymer coating covers products manufactured at NLMK Lipetsk using polyester, polyurethane and PVDF enamels applied to hot-dip galvanized steel.
Ilya Guschin, NLMK Group Vice President of Sales, said: “NLMK has the technology to enable it to guarantee the exceptional quality and longevity of its products, something which is particularly important given the climate in Russia. This guarantee of NLMK products provides an additional competitive advantage to our customers, while consumers can be confident in the high quality of our products.”
NLMK markets steel products with a polymer coating over galvanized steel, with a protective zinc coating weight ranging from 140 to 275 g/square meter. These measurements deliver superior operational performance of the steel products, compared to prevailing existing pre-painted steel market offerings with a protective zinc coating weight of 100 g/square meter and under.
Close monitoring of technological processes enables NLMK to guarantee the longevity of the decorative properties of pre-painted products that do not suffer from peeling, flaking or cracking of the surface layer, as well as from uneven change in color. NLMK is also able to guarantee the protective properties of the steel, ensuring there is no corrosion.
Depending on the category of the surface coating, be it “Standard”, “Standard+”, “Premium” or “Premium+”; as well as climactic conditions and the application in which the steel is used, the guarantee period for preservation of decorative properties ranges from 10 to 25 years, whilst for protection against corrosion it ranges from 22 to 35 years.
Steel products, with a wide variety of paint coatings from right across the color spectrum, are used to produce profiled sheeting, roofing tiles, façade systems, white goods, instruments and much more. The main consumer of pre-painted steel is the construction industry, to which NLMK delivers over 95% of its pre-painted steel. NLMK Group held a 24% share on the Russian market for pre-painted steel in 2016.
NLMK is Russia’s leading manufacturer of pre-painted steel with an approximately 40% market share.
NLMK has more than 20 years of experience developing technologies for the production of galvanized steel with a wide range of polymer coatings. NLMK produces color-coated steel up to 1850 mm wide with a smooth or texturized polyether, polyurethane, and PVDF coating in a wide range of colors. NLMK’s main pre-painted steel production facilities (with a production capacity of around 600,000 ton per year) are located in Lipetsk. NLMK Group also produces pre-painted steel at NLMK Strasbourg. (NLMK/Ukrainian metal)
