ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products
ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products
One of Kovona’s initial designs for the table’s legs specified hot-dip galvanised steel which the company often uses for its products. “We tried to work with a steel that had a low-zinc electroplated coating on both sides,” explains Marek Gil, commercial director of Kovona System.
“We have had a lot of experience with this material. But in this application, the welds disturbed the visible surface of the zinc-plated steel. It was also difficult to powder coat the inner part of the table legs and we couldn’t use the material without corrosion protection.”
The company was introduced to Jetskin® when their ArcelorMittal client technical support (CTS) manager, Lubomir Petřík, organised a demonstration of the product at Kovona’s plant. “Jetskin® attracted our attention due to its appearance, the homogeneity of the surface layer, and its corrosion resistance,” says Marek Gil. “The environmental advantages were also very important to us and our customer Ikea.”
Kovona started with a small amount of material which they initially used for corrosion testing.
“Lubomir Petřík helped us to obtain samples which were suitable for the comprehensive testing we needed to carry out,” says Marek Gil. “We also worked closely with ArcelorMittal Liège, where Jetskin® is produced, to get more information about the material.”
As the Jetskin® was already coated on one side, Kovona painted the other side after forming notes Marek Gil: “That enabled us to verify that Jetskin® was the right material for this application. After all processes, including welding and powder coating, everything was perfect and the product was accepted by our customer.”
While Kovona has no specific plans to use Jetskin® in other products, Marek Gil can see its potential: “Jetskin® is ideal for parts which require good corrosion resistance but can’t be electrostatically powder coated – particularly those with cavities or on the inner side of a profile. Based on our current experience, we will not hesitate to use Jetskin® again.”
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