Visit Dupont™ Teflon® industrial coatings at Booth # 226

2015 Powder Coatings Show
May 6-7 2015
Kentucky International Convention Center
Louisville, KY 

Stop by the booth to learn more about DuPont™ Teflon® coatings and to receive a special show discount on TruPak TCI powder coatings. TruPak offers the online purchasing of TCI powder coatings in 1, 3, 5, and 10 lb boxes.

REGISTER TODAY
The Powder Coating Show is the only tradeshow dedicated to powder coating in North America put on by the Powder Coating Institute.

Click here for information on how to register for your complimentary expo pass to the show. 

For more information or to register for the full technical conference, see the 2015 Powder Coating Show website. 

Questions? Want to set up a meeting time at the booth? Please contact Chris Dohl.

Congratulations Kate!

Last month we threw Kate Morgner, our Corporate Marketing Leader, a baby shower. After opening gifts, we all enjoyed tea sandwiches, tomato pie, pasta salad, and yummy cupcakes. Congratulations Kate, we all can't wait to meet baby Morgner!

Coating Markets for Teflon® Fluoropolymers:Food Processing

Cookie and Cracker

The cookie and cracker manufacturing industry includes 300 companies for a combined annual revenue of about $10 billion.  Cookie and cracker manufacturing begins by grinding starter ingredients like sugar, oils, and flavoring in industrial mixers.  Following the initial blend, workers mix in water and bonding agents to form the dough.  After the dough is mixed, it is lifted into a hopper and spread onto trays.  Once on the tray, the product is cut or rotary cut into shapes.  These pieces are then put on conveyor belts for baking and flavoring.  Finished products are then packed per their requirement. Large companies include Kraft’s Nabisco subsidiary, Kellogg’s, Campbell’s Pepperidge Farms, Lance, and Interbake Foods.

The industry is highly concentrated with the top 50 companies accounting for 90% of the total revenue.  Geographically, food manufacturing is located across the country. Demand is driven by population growth, health concerns, and taste.  These products are considered “impulse” consumables and compete against fresh-baked items, fast food, and the candy and chip industry.  Companies are profitable by having efficient operations and good marketing groups.

Dairy
The US dairy manufacturing industry consists of 1200 companies that have a combined annual income of $60 billion. The four major segments in this industry are fluid milk, cheese, frozen desserts, and butter. Most companies focus on one segment, although some of the largest companies play in all four segments. Large companies include Land O Lakes, Dean Foods, and Dairy Farmers of America. Because of the nature of the perishable raw materials most production is localized around their raw material supply.

The industry is rapidly consolidating with the 50 largest companies holding 75% of the market. Changes in consumer income drive demand for various types of dairy food. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and marketing, as milk is a commodity. Manufacturing is standardized across the segments and highly automated.

Key Benefits of DuPont™ Teflon® industrial coatings:

• Extreme temperature resistance
• Nonstick surface
• Low coefficient of friction
• Corrosion resistance
• Compliance with health standards

Typical Applications:

• Cheese products - eliminates problematic build up of dried cheese crust
• Fast food restaurants - helps reduce recoating frequency on cooking equipment
• Potato chip manufacturing - helps reduce residue build up by coating knives used to cut potatoes, resulting in less downtime and lower cleaning and maintenance costs
• Processing of pineapple and similar products with high acidity - reduces corrosion caused by acidic juices, reduces need for lubrication with food-grade oil and results in improved replacement frequency levels due to longer life of the housings

For more information on the coating markets for DuPont™ Teflon® industrial coatings and resources available, visit our Solution Center. 

Intech's Offsite Sales Meeting -OBX 2015

The Sales Team at Intech had an offsite sales meeting last week in the Outer Banks.  It was a great time to get away from the daily grind of the office, build our team, participate in some intensive sales training, discuss the outlook and goals of the company over the next 5 years, and how our team will get us there.There was also some time to discuss marketing plans for the future, social media usage in the industrial sales and marketing world, and improve our uses of sales tools internally in order to better serve our customers.

Other highlights were home cooked meals by Tony (our VP of Sales), a beautiful quiet location of the Outer Banks in early Spring, and the Sales Team getting to be together.  If you haven't checked out his recipes, please look at our monthly featured recipes by Tony.

Intech has some great plans for the near future. Have you checked it out?  

Manufacturing of Powder Coatings; Series 1 of 3

The process of manufacturing powder coatings is a relatively complex process that must be carefully controlled to ensure a high-quality final product.  Powder coatings are manufactured in a multi-step process of pre-mixing, extrusion, and micronization.  Basically, materials are blended, melted, cooled, and then pulverized.  This blog will focus on pre-mixing, the first step in the process. 

Pre-mixing – this involves the weighing and mixing of all the raw materials, which include resins, curing agents, pigments, and additives.  

Intech Services and TCI Powder Coatings have partnered to create TruPak, a program that offers over 300 of TCI's most popular powder coatings in 1, 3, 5, and 10 pound boxes. Together we provide a wide selection of superior products used for innovative solutions and applications within the architectural, furniture, automotive, agriculture, and construction markets.  Click here for more information on TruPak powder coatings.

For more information from TCI Powder Coatings on the manufacturing of powder coatings, please refer to TCI’s Troubleshooting Guide or click here to contact us today to speak with our experienced team about how we can help you with your powder coating needs.

Be Intech: Be Essential

Over the last 20 years, Intech Services has rapidly expanded, evolving from just a coating supplier to a sales, marketing, and operations company focused on the industrial manufacturing segment. Intech started with an open and creative business environment, and we still stay true to those principles as we grow. We want to convey our values to our customers through Be Intech, a campaign that will allow our original values to shine through and continue to shape our corporate culture and customer interactions. 

Be Essential.
Do you know which products you need to deliver high-quality coatings? Intech does, and we are here to help you find the right tools for your job. Intech carries products that are specific to the coating industry, so when you work with Intech, we'll get you what you need.

Understanding NFPA 86: Class A Direct Gas-Fired Ovens

The National Fire Protection Association’s Bulletin 86 (NFPA 86) is the minimum standard, required by law, establishing fire safety standards, including standards for the safe operation of oven and furnace processes.  Understanding and complying with the NFPA 86 standard can minimize the risk of a catastrophic event at your plant and is the single most important thing an oven builder, buyer, and operator can do.  This standard is updated on a regular basis with the latest revisions happening in 2015.

 

There are four classes of ovens as defined by NFPA 86: Class A, B, C, and D.  In this blog we will be focusing on direct gas-fired ovens (Class A).

Direct Gas-Fired Ovens: All direct gas-fired ovens carry the Class A rating automatically because they introduce products of combustion into the oven work area. These volatile materials must be exhausted in a forcible manner. Direct gas-fired Class A ovens must include the following safety features:

• Powdered Exhaust Fan – an exhaust fan of sufficient size is necessary to evacuate the required amount of fumes, smoke, etc., eliminating buildup of hazardous materials in the work area
• Extra Airflow Safety Switch – Should the exhaust fan fail, the second switch will shut down the heaters
• Manual Reset Excess Temperature Control – should the unit produce too much heat, the oven will trip and shut down the burner.
• Purge Timer – used prior to heating to remove any flammable vapors and/or gasses that may have entered the work area while the oven was idle.
• Internal Pressure Relief - if a buildup of fumes leads to an explosion, this required feature will ensure that the event has an avenue of “controlled” release.
• High-Low Gas Pressure Switch - should the sensor detect that gas flow is too high or too low, this switch will shut down the oven. Fairly even gas pressure must be supplied to prevent a buildup of combustible vapors.
• Flame Safety/Spark Ignition – this control sends a high voltage signal to the spark plug for ignition, and the pilot gas valve opens to ignite the pilot flame. If no pilot flame is detected, the flame safety stops the attempt at ignition.

Click to view the safety controls specified for Class A and Class B electrically heated ovens. 

This is a simple overview of NFPA 86 for class A ovens. Please consult the full NFPA 86 standard for all specifications and additional details.

Contact a Precision Quincy representative today at (302) 602-8738 or sales@pqovens.com for more information on NFPA 86 and how to become compliant. 

All Precision Quincy Ovens are of welded steel construction and quality components are used throughout. Each oven is wired and tested at maximum temperature prior to shipping. Ovens meet or exceed NFPA-86, NFPA-70, OSHA & UL requirements.