Monitor Coatings is Regional Winner for the North East Business Innovation Award

On Thursday 28th February, Monitor Coatings | Castolin Eutectic were proudly presented with the Innovation Award for the Northumberland and Tyneside Heat of the North East Business Awards 2019. Monitor Coatings have been part of Castolin Eutectic since 2013. Castolin Eutectic is a worldwide leader of application solutions in maintenance, repair and wear protection. With more than 1,500 people worldwide in over 100 countries and more than 700 application specialists partnering with Castolin Eutectic gives Monitor Coatings the ability to grow faster.

Monitor Coatings continue to improve the functionality of existing products and develop a new class of reinforced coating materials with the aid of nanotechnology. This new coating system and application method can create opportunities for new products which could not otherwise exist. Monitor Coatings innovative products contribute to a sustainable growth of the surface engineering sector in the UK and pave the way for large scale use of nanotechnology that has been in the epicentre of global R&D funding without significant ROI until now. The next three years will see Monitor Coatings offering nano-enabled products produced with the aid of artificial intelligence and neural network manufacturing process control mechanisms. The key characteristics of these products are:

• Excellent Product Quality
• Ease of Use
• Customisation
• Reduced waste
• Cost Efficiency

Nano-Enabled Coatings:

Monitor Coatings new products offer novel high temperature oxidation, thermal shock and wear resistance, applied on complex parts in response to this business and technological need. Responding to the pressure on UK steel manufacturers from USA tariffs and Chinese production, our products provide the necessary regional innovation boost to the supply chain in North Shields and the end-users operating in Wales, Port Talbot and Sheffield, Scunthorpe - Aldwarke.

Automation & IoT:

The key to success is not just producing better products faster and more efficiently, but also controlling a multitude of complex processes with precision. Monitor Coatings have developed an innovative and adaptive process quality control technology, based on acoustic sensors. The system uses artificial neural networks and intelligent rapid sampling, linked to real-time processing parameters and QA. Using acoustic emission sensor monitoring techniques allows issues that affect quality, to be quickly identified and resolved centrally—even across global operations and into the supplier network.

The products were developed with the support from Innovate UK (IUK) who recognised the value of our enabling technology propositions. To achieve strong business dynamics the role of IUK is critical. This technology acquisition scheme offers new opportunities to cooperate, collaborate and integrate technologies from different sectors. Monitor Coatings have invested more than £2 million in the last 5 years and IUK supported developments with another £2 million over the same period.

Environmental Benefits:

The application of advanced surface engineering technologies can prolong the lifespan of manufacturing products and remanufactured components. This effectively reduces the consumption of energy and natural resources and reduces carbon footprints, thus contributing to sustainable and green manufacturing. Elimination of carcinogenic hexavalent chrome is another major positive environmental benefit of our products.

“This accolade recognises the quality, motivation, skills and commitment shown by each and every member of the Monitor Coatings family. Monitor Coatings is an integral part of The Surface Engineering industry, an industry that generates £11.2bn to the UK turnover, effecting over £140bn in associated goods with a compound annual growth rate of over 11% which by 2025 is estimated to have a turnover exceeding £25bn and will affect over £313bn of product. This sector is hugely competitive and business’s such as ours rely on its ability to recognise a constantly evolving advanced market. In order to satisfy demand, Monitor Coatings prides itself on providing innovative High Tech surface engineered protective coatings in some of the most extreme environments,” explains Rebecca Allcock, Managing Director.