Tata Shotton: Steel works prioritises sustainability with £3m upgrade of paint lines

Tata Steel has invested £3m into upgrading two paint lines at its Shotton Works resulting in improved quality and a 650,000-litre reduction in paint use each year.

The work is one of the largest investments on the site in recent years and form part of the company’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment through sustainable practices.

Bill Duckworth, the works manager, said the investment will allow the team to provide improved product quality by minimising material use.

The latest technology for paint coater heads and control systems will also be integrated with on-line measurement technologies. Colorcoat products are used globally in a wide range of buildings such as schools, offices, retail, and leisure applications, among others.

Commissioning of the new finish coater heads on Colorcoat No.1 line has been completed, and work on Colorcoat No.2 is expected to be finished in June 2023.

Lead Engineer for the project Dave Prytherch explained that upgrading the coater heads will deliver greater control of the paint application process by improving how the paint is transferred onto the steel strip substrate, giving infinite repeatability.

Dave noted that the current coater heads rely on manual adjustments to set the paint thickness, whereas the new heads incorporate a servo motor control, which provides much greater accuracy and safer hands-free operations.

Chris Edwards, Technical Manager KCS Herr Voss UK Ltd, which provided and installed the equipment, added: “This has been a great project to work on because there has been a lot of design input between the team at Shotton and ourselves.”

We’re confident that the installation will increase the potential for cost savings and improve the quality by maximising the consistency of the coating process.”

Shotton works launched its sustainability commitment with four themes in 2022, including reducing the site’s carbon footprint, developing sustainable products and services, protecting and expanding biodiversity on-site, and achieving zero onsite waste.

Tata Steel’s Shotton Works is one of the largest steelmaking sites in Europe, producing high-quality strip products for the automotive, construction, engineering, and packaging industries.

The works, which employs more than 700 people, has a strong record of innovation, particularly in developing products that reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing.