Wood powder coating makes strides: a slowed economy has put a crimp on powder on wood usage for the short term, but the long-term prospects of this up-and-coming finishing still look bright. (Finishing Newsfront).

Powder coating on medium density fiberboard burst on the scene about five years ago brimming with potential.

First, office furniture giant Herman Miller of Grand Rapids, MI, attracted great attention at NeoCon with the introduction of its Resolve line. Resolve, sporting MDF tops with sleek curves and rounded edges, aptly demonstrated how this emerging technology could be used to provide a seamless, onestep finish on complex MDF parts.

MDF powder coating next made a big splash at the 1998 International Woodworking Machinery & Supply Fair. Morton Powder Coating of Reading, PA, since merged with Rohm & Haas, made its first public showing of its Lamineer MDF powder coatings. The company left Atlanta at IWF's close with one of the seven Challengers Awards presented in the biennial competition for technological achievement.

Morton found itself in the winner's circle for the second time in two years when Lamineer won a Sequoia Award for environmentalism at the 1999 Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair in Anaheim.

Entering the 21st century MDF powder coating seemed poised for rapid growth. According to Dennis Kaminski of Nutro Corp., a manufacturer of 3-D UV curing equipment in Strongsville, OH, the number of NeoCon exhibitors displaying products with wood powder coatings increased from five in 2000 to 16 in 2001. A few more office furniture companies joined Herman Miller in setting up their own MDF powder coating systems. A handful or two more companies installed MDF powder coat lines to do work for others.

Then the bottom fell out of the North American economy. Most notably, the precipitous decline in office furniture shipments -- from $13 billion in 2000 to $9 last year -- had an major effect on curtailing the growth of the MDF powder coat market.

Jeff Palmer, communications director for the Powder Coating Institute Inc., said, "Obviously the economy and cutbacks in offices have been setbacks. But we still think there will be a potentially strong market for powder coating when the wood market picks up."

Steve Couzens, wood industry specialist of H.B. Fuller Powder Coatings of Oakdale, MN, said the combination of "very poor economic conditions" and the deteriorated office furniture market, which he termed a "key target for powder on wood," has greatly impeded MDF power coating's growth.

"Another factor was that powder was geared to replace membrane pressing because of 'cost savings' three years ago," Couzens said. "Since that time film costs have come way down as the supply has gone up due to the slow recovery in that market sector. The cost savings projected is not there as it was before."

Given a firmer economy to build on, Couzens said wood powder coating should catch on for a variety of reasons. "The biggest benefit is it's a VOC-free paint to replace solvent spray on MDF. Also, the freedom of design for seamless-covered edges gives designers of MDF products great ease to let their creativity flow. The different 'looks,' as well as the performance of powder for wood is here now, it just needs to be embraced."

Richard Robidoux, product manager for St. Laurent, QUE-based Protech Chemicals, like H.B. Fuller, a manufacturer of UV-cured powders, agreed that better days await the powder coat industry. "We know some companies have slowed down on R&D, but some did not. The biggest detriment is capital investment; potential users are putting everything on hold. We thought 2003 would be the year, but the Iraq war put a damper on that."

Despite these setbacks, Robidoux said, "There's no doubt in our minds that this is a technology that will be profitable for a number of powder companies and end users. It's not as complicated as people may think. Many in the wood industry are not aware of how simple it can be."

Mike Favreau, marketing manager for new technology of Rohm & Haas Powder Coatings, said, the weak economy has resulted in less wood powder coating materials being sold. "Ironically, though, we haven't had any projects cancelled. We're currently moving forward on three major new projects including one for a large supplier to a home center chain, a kitchen cabinet manufacturer and an installation in Europe. I can't say for sure, though, whether or not 10 other potential customers would have stepped forward if not for the economy.

"I think powder is here to stay," Favreau added. "It gives manufacturers another option to finish their products, but it's not for everyone. Powder coating is not going to replace thermal-fused melamine or high-pressure laminate. I think it will be a lot like membrane pressing and find its niche."

Chuck Jarvis, regional sales manager for powder manufacturer Tiger Drylac USA Inc. of Ontario, CA, agreed that powder's potential is clear. "Despite the slow economy, there was strong interest at Global Shop," he said.

Maggie Nodland, marketing director of Chemco Mfg. Co. Inc., a manufacturer of spray booth pads for collecting overspray based in Northbrook, IL, said converting to powder coating requires a major commitment for several reasons. Among them are the need to bear high start-up costs to install a line and to learn how to master a new technology.

However, Nodland added, the risks are not without rewards. "Powder coating offers a more consistent finish than sprayed liquid coatings. There are no drips, runs or bubbles to worry about. A desired appearance can be achieved with only one coat. In addition, since the coating lines are automated, fewer operators are required. Powder overspray can be collected and reused leading to less coating waste and any reclaimed powder that isn't reused can be easily disposed of because it isn't considered hazardous by the EPA."

Mike Chapman, president of MDF Powder Coat Systems of Portsmouth, RI, rattled off three major benefits of powder coat finishes on wood that will help drive the market. "First, they are simple to apply and cure. Second they provide a tough, durable finish. Third, both texture and smooth finishes are available," he said.

More Material Players Ante Up

The increased interest in MDF powder coating is apparent by the growing number of powder coat material manufacturers that are seeking a piece of the action. As John Binder marketing manager of Nordson Corp. of Amherst, OH, notes in his article on page 74, manufacturers of metal powder coatings have taken a keen interest in developing products for heat sensitive substrates like MDF and plastics.

This trend was especially apparent at Powder Coating 2002, a trade show held last October in Indianapolis. There, at least seven major finishing suppliers showed off powder on wood products. Included were Rohm & Haas' Lamineer Protech's Nuvocoat and H.B. Fuller's Designkote. DuPont Powder Coatings introduced Raytech, a UV powder for wood. Akzo, Tiger Drylac USA Inc. and Becker Powder Coatings also featured MDF powder products at their booths.

Meanhwile, Robert Edwards global business director of PPG Industries Inc.'s industrial powder coatings, Pittsburgh, PA, said his company was working on a new powder product for wood that it hopes to debut this summer. "Wood is getting much attention. There have been a lot of technical papers written. We'll have to see in five years if this is the next $1 billion market or just one with a few niche players," Edwards said.

Sherwin-Williams of Cleveland, OH, is one company that appears to be betting the latter is the case. A company spokesman said that it had discontinued its wood powder product and rededicated its focus on metal powder coats and liquid coatings for wood.

Clear Coats: 'Next Big Thing'

One glaring limitation of powder coating has been achieving wood looks. Whereas decorative overlays have come a long way in perfecting woodgrains, wood powder coating has largely been limited to engineered wood substrates.

That could soon change, however, as major players including H.B. Fuller, Protech and Robin & Haas throw the weight of their R&D efforts behind technology for finishing hardwoods.

In fact, the future might be closer than some might think. Favreau said the cabinet manufacturer his company is working closely with is interested in putting in a UV powder coat line to apply a clear finish to raw maple and oak solids. "The biggest limitation is color consistency," Favreau said. "Because they would not be tinting the wood, if one door is made of a darker wood than the next, the difference will be obvious. What you see is what you get."

Favreau said the potential of developing a cost-effective powder coat that can address Mother Nature's inconsistencies is one area that needs to be addressed in R&D. Achieving improved clarity relative to much thinner liquid coatings is another.

Couzens said he definitely thinks the next big thing will be "clear UV powder over natural hardwoods for the kitchen cabinet industry. Research to date has shown very promising results for the future in this area. The technology of UV clear powder is a monumental 'game changer' in removing solvent-based clear coatings, many requiring multiple passes, into a one-pass, non-VOC coating that will pass the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Assn.'s testing standards."

Robidoux also said his company is actively pursuing clear coat. "We're working on clear coats which will open up traditional furniture markets, mouldings and ultimately even flooring," Robidoux said.

New Equipment Developments

The potential of wood powder coating has not escaped the attention of equipment manufacturers.

Powder coating has traditionally been a vertical process to take advantage of the electrostatic system's ability to apply powder on all sides of a part in one pass. Cefla, which operates as Cefla Finishing America out of High Point, NC, while maintaining a close affiliation with Stiles Machinery, has introduced a UV flat-line powder coating system for finishing cabinet doors and cabinet and furniture parts.

While coating both sides of a part requires sending it through the flat-line system twice, users of this system do not have to drill holes in the back of parts so that they can be suspended from a vertical conveyor. Another advantage is that the flat-line system requires less floor space. As is the case with traditional vertical powder coating application systems, the flat line system is able to achieve high rates of transfer efficiency and reclaim overspray.

The need to be able to accommodate smaller runs of customer orders is driving several equipment manufacturers to focus attention on quick color change systems.

ITW Gema, for example, recently introduced its Vortech Series powder coating booth. It features an integrated multi-cyclone and cartridge assembly designed for simple conversions and color-change flexibility.

ColorMax from Nordson represents another quick-color-change development. Nordson says ColorMax can help powder coat applicators to change colors in 10 to 25 minutes.

Seeing Is Believing 

Several material and equipment companies, including Rohm & Haas and Nordson, have established laboratories featuring fully equipped powder coat lines to demonstrate wood powder applications and benefits to potential customers.

MDF Powder Coat Systems, a turnkey supplier of finishing systems last year opened up a research and development and testing facility in Portsmouth, RI. The facility includes a 300-foot-long, high-speed line utilizing automatic powder coating equipment and catalytic infrared curing ovens to apply and cure electrostatically charged power to MDF. The company said that by testing products in thermal and thermal/UV cure ovens, a customer is able to select an individually designed system that best suits its needs.

George Koch Sons LLC of Evansville, IN, recently established a UV powder demonstration facility dedicated to heat sensitive substrates such as MDF, wood and diecast metal substrates. Parts are transported via an overhead monorail conveyor. Flat-line processing on smaller samples is also available.

RELATED ARTICLE: Associations Get into the Act

The Powder Coating Institute Inc. and RadTech International North America are two U.S.-based trade associations that are taking an active interest in promoting and facilitating the growth of wood powder coating.

The Powder Coating Institute, based in Alexandria, VA, is a non-profit professional organization founded in 1981. Its members include companies that manufacture or distribute powder coating materials, manufacturers and distributors of powder coating equipment and custom powder coaters.

While the association was founded to advance the powder on metal applications, in recent years it has added heat-sensitive substrates like MDF and plastics to its mission.

Other publications offered by the PCI include a 2002-2003 Information Brochure, that summarizes the organization and functions of the association and includes details about its more than 300 members.

For more information about the PCI, phone [phone] or visit www.powdercoating.com.

RadTech Steps Up to the Plate

RadTech International, based in Chevy Chase, MD, is dedicated to promoting ultra-violet and electron beam cured products spanning many industries including printing, adhesives and wood finishing.

RadTech's Wood Group is presenting, "Day of Wood: A One-Day Introduction to UV Finishing Applications on Wood," May 6 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, NC. The program is sponsored by Wood & Wood Products. Among the 11 topics slated for the program are two directly related to UV powder applications for wood.

For more information about the seminar, see page 35. For more information about RadTech phone [phone] or visit www.radtech.org.

More Wood Powder Coating Info on ISWonline

Over the last five years, W&WP has published several articles about wood powder coating. The following articles are archived on Industrial Strength Woodworking, www.iswonline.com.

* Challengers Awards Recognize Best New Products, October 1998

* Sequoia Awards Highlight More than Green, October 1999

* Powder Power: Case Studies of custom powder coaters Kenex and Adept, June 2000

* Powder Coating at the Speed of Light: Case study of Decorative Veneer Inc., October 2001

* Nordson Hosts Lab Demonstrations, November 2001

* When Powder Meets Hardwoods, June 2002