Corus Colors becomes one of 23 business units in the new Corus organisation. It comprises eight sites – Shotton, Bryngwyn, Coated Metals, Cookley, Firsteel and Tafarnaubach in the UK, Myriad in northern France and Imjuiden in the Netherlands. Together they are expected to deliver 1.7 million tonnes of finished coated products this year including one million tonnes of paint coated or plastic laminated metal.
With demand for coated products forecast to continue to rise, the annual capacity of the no.6 dual purpose hot dip galvanizing line in the Coatings Two complex at Shotton Works is increased to 287K tonnes. The capacity to produce galvanneal for vehicle body parts is increased to around 177K tonnes.
The line’s other product, Galfan® has been produced on the line since 1998 for use mainly as a substrate for Colorcoat HPS200 ®, the new generation of painted steel strip.
A new Colorcoat ® product design service is launched to enable architects and specifiers to select the colour for a building clad with Colorcoat HPS200® using the Internet. The Repertoire ® colour matching service, launched in October, dramatically increases the number of Confidex ® guaranteed colours available in the Colorcoat HPS200 ® range.
The continuous hot dip galvanizing line at Port Talbot Works closes and is sold to India.
The No. 2 continuous hot dip galvanising line at Ebbw Vale Works closes.
The No. 2 electro galvanizing line in the Coatings Two complex at Shotton Works closes and certain products are transferred to the No.3 electro galvanizing line in the Coatings Three complex.
The No. 5 hot dip galvanizing line at Shotton Works, designed to cold reduced strip up to 2mm gauge with up to 450 grammes of zinc per square metre, is now applying thicker coatings to heavier gauge hot rolled material.
Bryngwyn Works, home of the UK’s first two Colorcoat ® lines, closes completely in June. The order book for pre-finished steel was virtually non-existent in 1965 when the first line was commissioned at the plant but a buoyant market was soon created, hence the need for a second line seven years later. By 1990, the two lines had produced over 2.5 million tonnes of Colorcoat ®. Annual production peaked at 140K tonnes in 1998, the main product being Colorcoat HPS200 ® used mainly for roofing, decking and cladding applications in the building industry.
As a result of the closure of Bryngwyn and Ebbw Vale works in South Wales, a wider range of hot dip galvanized and organic coated products are to be produced at Shotton Works in future.
Twenty eight organic coated products, previously specific to Bryngwyn, each requiring a different combination of substrate, paint finish or emboss, have been added to the range of products to be produced on Shotton’s two Colorcoat ® lines.
A typical example is Tabstock material, a light gauge electro galvanized or tinplate substrate coated with a lacquer for forming into ring pulls for cans. Also new is the Colorcoat Celestia ® range of high-performance metallic finish products for building cladding.
Corus Yasan Metals, a joint venture between Corus and two local partners in Turkey, becomes part of Corus Coated Products. The plant has an organic paint line previously located at the former H.H.Robertson factory at Ellesmere Port, and a profiling unit. The paint line applies solution coatings to hot dip galvanized substrate up to 1250 mm wide. It is capable of producing 60K tonnes of Colorcoat Polystar ® and Polymax ® a year.
Over 800,000 tonnes of steel is hot dip galvanised in the UK during the year.
Tafarnaubach Works celebrates 25 years of operation. The coating line coats zinc coated substrate strip up to 1455 mm wide with either high gloss polyester for the domestic appliance sector or Stelvetite® specialist film for the electronics sector.
A new pre-finished product with anti-bacterial properties is launched by Corus Colors. Colorcoat Assure ® is hot dip galvanized strip laminated with a 120micron white PVC film containing anti-bacterial properties. It is being promoted for use in wall and ceiling panels in the food processing and packaging industry and is also generating interest in the health sector. The product is produced at Tafarnaubach Works.
A unique organic coating with a satin aluminium appearance is developed at Tafarnaubach Works and is now being used in a new range of washing machines, tumble driers and dish washers manufactured by major Corus customer, Hotpoint. The Colorstelve system has been developed in partnership with GDA (General Domestic Appliances), a colorist and paint suppliers.
Corus’s premium cladding product, Colorcoat Celestia ® with a metallic finish, is re-launched following the transfer of production to Shotton Works on the closure of Bryngwyn Works. The product’s metallic coated substrate is now Galvalloy ® whose enhanced corrosion properties has allowed the Confidex ® guarantee on the product to be further extended.
The UK’s only remaining wide strip electro galvanizing line, the No. 3 line in Shotton Works’ Coatings Three complex, is closed down in September. This follows a continuing decline in demand for the product, significant over-capacity within Europe, declining selling prices and increasing dependence by Corus on exports.
Since 2000, as customers, notably in the automotive sector, have switched to hot dip galv., the UK market for electro galvanised strip has fallen by 33 per cent and the European Union market, by 22 per cent. Capacity across Europe is six million tonnes compared with current demand of four million tonnes.
Shotton’s core activity is now the production of hot dip galvanized and paint coated strip for the construction industry in the UK and overseas.
Neotec ™, a tin/zinc alloy coated strip specifically developed for automotive application, is launched by Corus. The new lead-free material for fuel tanks, produced at Cookley Works in the West Midlands, conforms to the new legislation requiring vehicle manufacturers to reduce hazardous substances during processes.
Shotton Works’ four coil coating lines are fully loaded and performing at a high level to meet demand.
Shotton, Tafarnaubach and paint coating operations at Imjuiden in the Netherlands now form a new Construction and Consumer Products unit of the business. Aluminised Products and Cookley Works are transferred to Corus Strip Products UK.
The annual capacity of the No. 5 hot dip galvanizing in the Coatings Two complex at Shotton Works is increased by 20,000 tonnes to meet the forecast growth in demand from the construction and automotive sectors in the UK.
Furnace and strip cooling equipment have been enhanced to enable all products within the Galvatite® range to be produced at the maximum line speed of 160 metres a minute. At present, the line is only run at maximum speed during the processing of thinner gauge strip.
The final line product has either a minimum spangle, smooth or normal spangle surface finish. A high proportion is used as substrate for paint coated products, destined for the construction sector, with the remainder going to the general trade where typical end uses include ducting and decking.
The No.6 line, also in the Coatings Two complex, applies either zinc or a zinc/aluminium alloy to cold reduced strip and is currently averaging 7,500 tonnes a week. Its smooth finished final product is the substrate material for the paint coating lines at Shotton, Tafarnaubach and Yasan in Turkey.
Manufacturing, Technical, Product and Market Development and Commercial continue to collaborate closely on the development of new products and in April, Shotton Works receives a premier award from the national Business Commitment to the Environment Awards scheme for its overall commitment to environment improvement, including the development of environmentally friendly products.
A comprehensive lifetime assessment of the flagship product, Colorcoat HPS2000 ® has shown the environmental impact of the product over its lifetime to be minimal compared with more traditional construction materials. The business approach is to develop products which contain no hazardous substances and can be easily re-cycled at the end of life.
The Colorfarm ® range of products, hot dip galvanised strip with an anti-corrosion primer and flexible exterior grade topcoat, is extended, giving wider choice to farmers. The product is used for cladding barns and livestock sheds.
Corus Colors design and product engineering service, based in the Product Marketing Development section at Shotton Works, is claimed to be a “world first”. It helps users and potential users of coated products make the most of the products in their components. For example, forming and joining of coated steel can be a challenge.
A new strategy to build the Colorcoat ® brand as a mark of quality and expertise considered vital to Shotton Works is launched and generates unprecedented interest in the UK and Southern Ireland.
Following development work by Corus Colors, Corus RD & T, Swinden Technology Centre and key paint suppliers, the range of Colorcoat HPS200 ® is widened. Launched in 1998, the product is now marketed as maintenance free with an extended Confidex ® guarantee. The revised coating has a lower environmental impact and offers benefits in terms of reduced costs, through the elimination of regular building inspection and improved safety.
The Colorcoat ® range of products is extended with the development of a new high- performance pre-finished steel for roof and wall cladding. Colorcoat Prisma ® has a Galvalloy ® substrate of zinc and aluminium, a primer coating for extra corrosion resistance and a polyurethane topcoat providing greater durability than PVF2. The new product offers outstanding colour and gloss retention, good scratch and abrasion resistance and is covered by the Confidex ® guarantee. It has been developed in partnership with paint suppliers, Becker Industrial Coatings Limited, and its process involves the No.6 hot dip galvanizing line and the No. 2 Colorcoat line at Shotton Works.
Cooper Coated Coil, originally Custom Coated Coil, becomes part of the Metalrax Group, a global manufacturer.
Corus Group closes Cookley Works, Brierley Hill, ending the production of Neotec ™, a tin/zinc alloy coated strip specifically developed for automotive application. The company states that the plant has been working at 25 per cent capacity during the year and is no longer profitable because of the increasing trend towards the use of plastic products.
Corus Group is taken over by Tata Group, an Indian company.
New production levels are achieved on the hot dip galvanizing and Colorcoat ® lines at Shotton Works. The current annual output capacity ratings are 800,000 tonnes of hot dip galv. and 400,000 tonnes of organic coated strip.
Imports from China now account for 30 per cent. of the European Union organic coated strip market.
The emphasis on marketing, customer service and product development of Colorcoat ® and other organic coated product has continued. Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra ® with advanced topcoat technology and phthalate free formulation is now available with the Confidex® guarantee extended up to 40 years. A new colour palette and launch of Repertoire ® range of bespoke colours offers an unlimited colour range of coatings to end users; the Confidex ® guarantee is extended to 30 years on roofing systems; Colorcoat HPS200 ® is supplied with a maintenance free warranty and a new Colorcoat Building Manual becomes available. Confidex Sustain ®, introduced in 2008, offers the first Carbon Neutral building envelope in the world.
Action is taken at Shotton Works to reduce to zero CO2 emissions produced by Colorcoat HPS200 Ultra ® and Colorcoat Prisma ® pre-finished steel products and the cladding systems they become part of.
Akzo, BASF and Becker are major suppliers of organic paint coatings in the UK with Chemetall and Henkel the leading suppliers of cleaning and pre-treatment chemicals.
Tata Steel Europe continues to work with Australian photovoltaic specialists, Dyesol on the feasibility of coating steel with solar cells. The project aim is to produce sheet steel “sprayed” with solar cells for use as roofing for warehouses, offices and other buildings. The partners, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, have invested £11 million on a Photovoltaic Accelerator Facility at Shotton Works, housing a coil-to-coil pilot line. The objective is to establish a product, process and supply chain that can be successfully commercialised. It will be the world’s first dye-sensitised photovoltaic product on steel. The project is scheduled to end in 2010.
A new £5 million line for the production of composite building panels is now in operation in the former Cold Strip Mill at Shotton Works enabling the Tata UK Profiles business to double its share of the UK market for composite panels. Metal Profil of Russia is currently the major export customer.
Additional operations from the Panels and Profiles business, including a second composite panel line and seven single skin profiling machines, are now located in No.8 bay of the former Cold Strip Mill at Shotton Works.
Tata Steel closes down its Coated Metals operation at Pontardulais.
Cooper Coated Coil, widely known in the industry as CCC, moves to a new manufacturing centre at Steel Park, Wolverhampton equipped with a new coating line for processing steel and other metallic strip up to 940 mm wide.