1. home and garden
2. home improvement and repair
3. roofing

BY TEKNOS
customer magazine
1/2015
Less is more
Kirjo Tile roof paint extends
the useful life of a tiled roof
Masters of large wooden structures
A hard worker with a glossy surface
1/2015
Publisher
Teknos Group Oy
Takkatie 3, P.O.Box 107
FI–00371 HELSINKI, Finland
Tel. +358 9 506 091
www.teknos.com
Editor
Irina Liukkonen
Working group
Outi Eskelinen
Merja Jakobsson
Martti Kopisto
Hanna Paavilainen
Petteri Tolonen
Karin Skov
Design and Layout
Mainostoimisto Dynastia Oy
Cover photograph
Elias Koskinen
Printing House
Lönnberg Print & Promo
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14
06
18
22
In this issue
05 Editorial Paula Salastie
06 Less is more
10 Born to be an entrepreneur, grown to be a leader
12 Kirjo Tile roof paint extends the useful life of a tiled roof
14 Masters of large wooden structures
15 China Expo Exhibition Complex (Shanghai)
18 A hard worker with a glossy surface
22 Powder coating of heavy components has become more common
26 Teknos shines on the surfaces of Europe’s largest wooden apartment block
28 Sophisticated furniture surfaces
29 Lacuna exterior folding doors with Teknos coating
30 Did you know that...
3
Editorial
We make it durable
Teknos is everywhere...
absolutely everywhere
Pull trailers and containers for cars, Europe’s biggest wooden apartment block PuuMera,
the world’s largest trade fair centre in Shanghai, Sisu vehicles... Objects painted with
Teknos paints are truly all around us. Are there any surfaces for which we cannot provide
solutions? This magazine covers merely a fraction of what we do, telling you where to
find surfaces treated with our products and the kinds of benefits they can provide to our
customers and partners.
Teknos has a fascinating history. The company that began its operations in a small hen
house has become a major enterprise that serves both local and international customers. Teknos coating agents are more than just paint – they are solutions for particular
problems. Looking for these solutions in cooperation with our customers is our starting
point. Our journey began with paints that slow down the corrosion process and led to
increasingly modern solutions over time.
Our product development relies on creativity and sustainability. We believe in our ability
to turn ideas into products, and we trust our intuition as part of the creative process in
which flashes of inspiration and ideas acquire concrete features and gradually evolve
into product solutions.
Quick
Drying
Wood Oil
Very
Durable
House Paint
Extend the
Age of Tile Roof
by Painting
Teknos’ paints and coatings are used around the world. We consider it a point of honour
to make Teknos a name known the world over through our products and know-how. It is
a great feeling to see the coating products of our family enterprise on the most extraordinary surfaces in the global marketplace; surfaces that pose their own challenges and
demands for the paint.
This raises the question of what kinds of conditions and stress should a paint really
be able to withstand. A Sisu vehicle driving flat out faces all kinds of challenges as it
speeds under a scorching sun or in temperatures 30 degrees below zero. The surface
of the chassis must withstand small rocks, snow, water, hail, splashing solvents and
fuel. In other words, everything that hits it. And even after all these stresses and strains,
it should remain shiny and good-looking. These are exactly the kinds of challenges that
we provide answers for.
Did you know, by the way, what kinds of surfaces are painted to begin with and how a
paint’s tolerance is tested? The new Did you know that... section in this magazine gives
answers to questions that may not have even crossed your mind. The section briefly presents interesting facts about Teknos, paints, unusual surfaces and objects to be painted.
Enjoy!
Paula Salastie
CEO, Teknos Group Oy
www.teknos.fi
5
PHOTOS:: VAK and Teknos
Less is
more
When a multiphase process is being enhanced, every
phase has to be synchronised with the rest of the chain.
Quicker production times are directly related to the
entire operation’s profitability.
VAK Oy designs and manufactures trailers and transport bodies for the different
needs of logistics companies. The range
of sizes, models and features is vast, with
every trailer manufactured from start to
finish in Vahto, near Turku. Production Director Sami Kortelainen spends most of
his time in the crossfire of tight schedules.
While the process has to take individual
needs into account, it also has to be as
automated as possible – a concept that
works quickly without delay.
“Sales have been very good, and our or-
6
der books are full for about the next three
months,” says Kortelainen over a quick
lunch. The Production Director seems
to be required everywhere, based on
passers-by’s reminders of when the
next meeting begins. Focusing on what
matters is clearly one of the keys to success. “At the same time, it creates positive pressure in production. It’s important
to keep the production flowing and to
minimise waiting time and other delays.
As a part of this development, we also
sent out an invitation to tender to bodywork paint manufacturers.”
7
Teknos paints and technical support have played their part in cutting VAK’s trailer delivery times in half.
Growing production has presented its own
demands on the premises – a new expansion is being built that aims to keep the
increasing production under control much
better than before. The lack of separate
drying spaces or temperature control created its own scheduling issues for the
painting process.
of painting. Our current space and personnel resources mean that we never really have to wait. Obviously, the quality of
the paintwork has to remain at our usual
high standards,” says Kortelainen as he
explains the background to the tendering.
It should be possible to begin the installation of equipment immediately after painting without fear of leaving surface marks.
Every time we have to wait, production
times go up and productivity goes down,
along with customer satisfaction. Since
Teknos paints were introduced, production has shifted into another gear.
equipment. Sami Kortelainen has nothing
but praise for both Teknos’ product features and their excellent attitude towards
service.
”Technical support has been fantastic. If
we need additional information on anything, the Teknos laboratory will get us a
comprehensive report. Service has been
excellent all round, all promises have been
kept and the quality has left us satisfied.
This is a good point to continue from.”
”The quality of the paintwork must remain at our
usual high standard,” says Production Director Sami
Kortelainen.
”The Teknos paints impressed us right
away. On top of everything, we can even
make the paint dry up to an hour faster,
according to Teknos. This is an excellent
feature in case production needs to be
ramped up and drying time starts to become critical.”
”The main requirement was for the paint
to dry quickly, so that we could start the
installation of equipment within 3-4 hours
8
Teknos paints and technical support also
contributed to the almost complete elimination of technical issues with the painting
After changing their paint supplier, VAK has
managed to cut its trailers’ average delivery time in half. Development has been
excellent in terms of growth in sales and
profitability, with painting being an important link in the process chain. Kortelainen
believes that they could not have achieved
this without Teknos paints.
9
text: irina liukkonen
photo: Riku isohella
Born to be an entrepreneur,
grown to be a leader
Paula Salastie’s path to becoming a business manager has been a long one.
Having followed Teknos’s operations since childhood and participated in the
company’s operations since 1997, she knows everything about Teknos and is
ready to head the financially healthy corporation.
A woman wearing an outfit in Teknos colours steps into the Teknos office. She
greets guests and staff in the lobby and
heads toward her own office. She is very
open, down to earth and easily approachable, without the air of a great leader. If
you did not know her, you might not guess
that the new CEO of Teknos, Paula Salastie (36), has just arrived at the office.
Paula’s grandfather, Osmo Kiikka, founded Teknos-Tehtaat Oy in 1948. From
Osmo, the company transferred to Paula’s
father Martti, and now Paula and her brother Petri head the company together with
their father Martti. Over the years, the company has grown rapidly and transformed
into a solid, international corporation with
world-class expertise. “It is all thanks to
our customers, partners and employees.
The customers’ wishes and expectations
guide our innovative product development,
which is then carried out by our competent
staff”, Paula explains.
Right from the beginning, Teknos has been
an innovative company. The starting point
of this family business was to do something
advanced that would solve problems and
create value and benefits for its customers.
Many of the company’s product development projects have been firsts in Finland,
and even globally. Teknos’s anticorrosive
paints, two-pack paints, powder coatings
and many other surface treatment solutions
have raised a lot of interest in the industry.
Investing in innovation and developing pioneering solutions will continue to be important for Teknos in the future. Antimicrobial
paints, fire-retardant coatings, and impact
and scratch resistant paints are all results of
the product development work conducted
in recent years. Teknos wants to unleash
its employees’ creativity, because the first
10
people to benefit from it are the customers.
This is why developing the employees’
skills is also dear to Paula’s heart.
The key to innovative product development is to be open-minded and receptive.
Martti Kiikka has always emphasised the
importance of these factors as well. “One
of the things my father has taught me is
to be curious and to keep an open mind
towards things and ideas”, Paula says. “It
is important to look for new opportunities
and ask yourself every now and then if a
square object really has only four corners”,
she laughs.
As a young girl, Paula did not dream of owning a paint company, let alone managing
one. She wanted to own a bakery. Paula
had a clear vision of what kind of cookies
the company would manufacture, how it
would operate and how it would be run.
At that point, she had no idea of how close to her dream she would actually get.
Although her company does not actually
make bread, manufacturing paint also involves mixing ingredients in certain proportions according to a recipe.
When Paula turned 18, she and her older
brother Petri had a long discussion. The
siblings considered together what would
be the best way to manage to company
in the future. Both agreed that only one
person would head the company. Finally,
they decided that Paula would take the
helm of the company because her systematic approach and perseverance suited
the paint company better. It took them a
few years to tell their father of their decision. “Father told us that the decision would
not be made until both of us were at least
25. He said that until then we would not
have enough life experience to make such
decisions”, Paula reminisces.
Paula has been participating in daily operations at Teknos since 1997. Over the
years she has held a number of positions.
She has headed the Architectural Coatings business unit, chaired the board of
directors, and handled acquisitions and
other projects.
Paula’s transfer to operational management had been planned for a long time
and was finally realised in April 2015 when
the board of directors elected her as the
company’s CEO. Even though becoming
the company’s CEO was just one step
away, it felt like a much longer journey.
“After all, decisions at this level are never
simple. I had to think this over for a long
time. To begin with, combining family life
and the job of CEO felt like an impossible
task. Succeeding requires just that perseverance and finding the right balance”,
Paula says. The new CEO has a lot of
plans to continue the company’s growth
and to develop its operations.
After her working day, Paula heads home
to care for her children and to raise the next
generation of Teknos leaders. “Sometimes
it’s a bit unclear whether I’m raising the
children or the children me”, she laughs.
The Kiikka family are the sole owners of
Teknos, and according to Paula this is not
about to change. “It is important to me that
Teknos remains a family business and is
passed from one generation to the next.
I believe that we can better develop the
company if it remains a family business,
and this also allows us to better care for
our customers and employees”, Paula
summarises.
11
text and photos: Teknos
The Kirjo Tile roof paint
extends the useful life of
a tiled roof and improves
the appearance of
the entire house
Painting forms an essential part of the regular maintenance of a tiled roof. The Kirjo Tile roof paint of Teknos
extends the useful life of your roofing by protecting its
surface from weathering.
At its best, the useful life of a tiled roof can
extend to 50 years. Rain, sub-zero temperatures and other changes in weather
decay, tint and discolour the tiles’ surface.
While washing, moss removal and protective treatment work for a while, painting
results in a true improvement of profile.
”The porous roof tile absorbs water when
it rains. This water then freezes when autumn comes along and decays the tile. If
left without maintenance, the roof’s condition will quickly turn poor,” says Teknos’s
technical specialist Petri Sirviö.
”The paint forms a protective coating impenetrable to moisture on the surface of
a concrete brick. Painting also radically
changes the appearance of a concrete
12
roof, particularly if you decide to paint it
with a colour other than brick red. The
fresh look often increases the value of the
entire property,” says Sirviö.
Kirjo Tile, developed for the maintenance
painting of old concrete and cement roof
tiles, protects the tile and keeps it clean.
It allows for changing the colour of an old
tiled roof to a more pleasant one or one that
sits better in its surroundings – which best
reflects the atmosphere of the house: dark
grey, brick red, brown or black?
Kirjo Tile makes painting easy and effortless to the average occupant of a singlefamily or detached house. Kirjo Tile is
suitable for use with Kirjo Kattopesu, intended for the washing of tiled roofs.
Kirjo Tile roof paint
• A water-thinnable, acrylate-based maintenance
paint for concrete brick roofs
• Suitable for the painting of both factory painted
and dyed-through concrete and cement brick roofs
• Protects a tiled roof from weathering
• Colours: dark grey, brick red, brown, black
• Full matt finish
• Packaging size: 10 l
13
text: hanna paavilainen
photos: Late-Rakenteet and Teknos
Masters of
large wooden structures
Late-Rakenteet Oy has been building glulam products for
70 years, from wooden schooners to pavilions. Modern
design know-how allows glulam structures to be used in
public construction more than ever before.
Late-Rakenteet Oy, who manufacture massive glulam structures, are located in an
open area on the coast in Pansio, Turku.
The location is ideal for this glulam manufacturer, whose production hall is 200 metres long. The hall can be used for manufacturing arch beams with a span of 70
metres – a statement that glulam is also
suitable for very large buildings.
Late-Rakenteet products are mainly delivered to the Finnish market. Approximately
one fifth of the production is exported, mainly
Late-Rakenteet has an interesting history
dating back to the post-war years, when
a company called Laivateollisuus Ab provided wooden auxiliary schooners to the
Soviet Union as war reparations. Glulam
was used for the ships’ arches, deck structures and masts. The last wooden ship was
delivered in 1958, with the company having
begun to deliver glulam to the construction
industry two years previously.
”We wanted to use our shipbuilding knowhow in making glulam structures. At its simplest this meant that we just flipped a ship’s
hull upside-down, making the skeleton of
a building,” says Managing Director Veijo
Lehtonen.
St. Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel,
Turku, 2005.
14
Multi-purpose glulam
Since 1989, the company has been operating under the name Late-Rakenteet Oy,
a shorter version of the old name. Current
production consists of objects for specific
structures and standard beams. The objects are glulam structures made to match
a building’s blueprints, like arched beams.
Standard beams are straight with varying
widths and thicknesses. They are available
cut to length with a short delivery time. The
wood material is predominantly spruce, because its branches are more homogenous
than pine.
Managing Director Veijo Lehtonen knows the properties,
challenges and opportunities of glulam structure.
to Europe and the Middle East. ”Glulam is
mainly used for exhibition structures, sports
and industrial halls, as additional construction material for prefabricated houses, in
churches, and for riding schools and other
agricultural buildings,” says Lehtonen, ”and
wooden apartment buildings may become
viable in the future as well.”
Late-Rakenteet has been using Teknos
products, mainly clear varnish, for the surface treatment of its products for a long
time now. AQUATOP 2640-24 is a weather-resistant, bright beam varnish that can
be applied thickly. The traditional quality paint, AQUATOP 2920-04, is used on
painted parts.
15
shed Rosella
of Aurinkotalli
The resident
e.
m
ho
l
tifu
au
likes her be
Teknos’ products protecting
the new China Expo
Complex steel structures
Curved ridge beam in Aurinkotalli shed, Helsinki, 2014.
Design qualifications are important
Despite the manufacture of wooden support structures paling in comparison to
steel and concrete, construction projects
that favour wood are starting to be noticed
by the glulam industry as well. ”The design of wooden structures has to take the
unique properties of wood into account,
which means that the glulam industry has
invested heavily in related education. All
sorts of qualifications are required of wood,
concrete and steel structure designers, the
highest being the AA class qualification. De-
text: Jacky Cheng
photos: Teknos and China Expo Exhibition Complex (Shanghai)
sign know-how in wooden structures is a
lot better now than it was fifteen years ago,”
says Lehtonen, who is also an engineer.
The future of Finnish glulam seems bright.
As demand grows, production automation
will certainly be a point of greater attention
for Late-Rakenteet as well. In addition to
traditional sites, glulam can be a natural
part of modern urban infrastructure, as the
soon-to-be-completed Lauttasaari metro
station will demonstrate.
Kuokkala Church, Jyväskylä, 2010.
China Expo Exhibition Complex (Shanghai) is the largest single block building
and exhibition complex in the world,
with a total construction area of 1.47
million square metres, of which 1.27 million square metres are above ground.
Facilities at the China Expo Complex include exhibition halls, the commercial
centre, the office buildings and a hotel.
These four facilities are linked together
by an 8-metre-high elevated pedestrian
walkway.
Late-Rakenteet Oy
Established in 1945, operating under the current name since 1989.
Managing Director Veijo Lehtonen
Turnover approx. €6 million
Annual production approx. 10,000 m3
References
Gösta’s Pavilion, Mänttä 2013
Minsk Ice Palace, 2012
Kamppi Chapel, Helsinki 2011
Joensuu Areena Hall, 2003
Embassy of the United Kingdom, Moscow 1999
Waterpark Serena, Espoo 1995
Bent glue wood for Lauttasaari metro station.
16
Commerce of the PRC and the Shanghai
Municipal People’s Government. Shanghai Expo Co., Ltd. is responsible for the
investment and construction of the project and the operation of the complex after its inception.
China Expo Exhibition Complex (Shanghai) started its exhibition events in the
middle of October 2014. This new expo
complex is a joint project by the Ministry of
The large complex offers 500,000 square
metres of exhibition space, including
400,000 square metres of indoor exhibition space and 100,000 square metres of
outdoor display areas. The indoor exhibition space include 13 large exhibition halls
(28,800 square metres each), and three
small halls (10,000 square metres each).
Teknos’ CEO Paula Salastie, Senior Vice President
Pekka Rantamäki, Director/Metal wet paints Ville
Tuominen and General Manager Jacky Cheng.
The entire project was completed using
130,000 tonnes of steel. Teknos’ products; TEKNOPLAST PRIMER 7 Miox
Grey epoxy primer and TEKNODUR 0050
polyurethane top coat, were used in this
project, the total amount of Teknos’ paints
being almost 300 000 litres.
17
“Teknos’ expertise is a competitive advantage for us,” states Sisu-Auto Trucks Oy’s Production Engineer
Niko Vierimaa.
A hard worker witH A
glossy
surface
The Finnish truck manufacturer Sisu Auto launched its new
and impressive Sisu Polar Euro 6 range in the spring of 2014.
The frames of Polar trucks are finalised with Teknos’ new fully
glossy polyurethane paint, TEKNODUR 100. The painting system,
which complies with new stricter quality requirements, protects the
frame against scratches and gives the surface an impressive gloss.
text: Outi ESKELINEN
photos: SIsU AUTO and TEKNOS
18
Before the frame solution is
painted, all the necessary
equipment for the purpose
of use are integrated into
it. The surface treatment
of a challenging item is
completed easily by skilled
professionals and by using
the correct products. Here
is a masterpiece created by
Sisu Auto’s Master Painter
Åke Lemström.
Annually, hundreds of trucks are manufactured at Sisu Auto’s factory in Karjaa. The
trucks have been developed especially for
the heavy conditions of the North. Skilful
professionals in Karjaa turn a pile of steel
bars into the frame solution of a truck,
which integrates spindles, suspension and
axles, hundreds of fasteners and other
accessories required in a transportation
fleet. The frame solution is a complex and
multidimensional totality, whose surface
treatment requires a skilful professional
with expertise in painting large, challenging items. Sisu Auto’s Åke is one of those
skilled professionals.
New product range,
higher quality requirements
In the spring of 2014 and as a result of
development work, Sisu Auto launched
the Sisu Polar range that complies with
the stricter EURO VI emission norms. The
new range includes factory-made trucks
for transporting gravel and timber, for road
maintenance, transporting machines and
pallets, and lifting. The quality requirements of the vehicle industry are made
more demanding especially by the working
conditions of heavy-duty vehicles. During
its useful life, a truck must be able to withstand hitting rocks, dirt, variable weather
conditions, vibration, the high temperatures of exhaust gases, and various cleaning chemicals. The heavier the work, the
more Sisu stands out from the crowd.
– We want to provide our end customers
with more productive working days and
shorter workshop servicing periods due to
damages caused by stress. Fundamentally, this customer promise also entails a
high-quality frame with a surface that endures knocks and retains its gloss, summarises Sisu Auto Trucks Oy’s Production
Engineer Niko Vierimaa.
Vantage point into
product development
The cooperation between Sisu Auto and
Teknos has lasted for a long time – powder coating of the steel bars in frames with
Teknos’ INFRALIT products began almost
30 years ago. Over the decades, the cooperation has developed into a partnership that has enabled the customer to
participate closely in product development
projects. Niko Vierimaa is content with the
cooperation.
– Teknos’ expertise is a competitive advantage for us: we can use their technical
know-how both in auditing our subcontractors and in developing our own knowhow, says Vierimaa.
The development work of a fully glossy
industrial polyurethane system to comply
with the strict quality requirements of the
vehicle industry has been a long project.
At the beginning of 2014, a trial painting
phase was started in cooperation between
Teknos and Sisu Auto.
– This has been a unique opportunity for
us to observe a product development process so closely and to view the concrete
results that have been achieved. Our cooperation with the Teknos sales department and laboratory has been seamless,
as the painting system has been modified to a higher quality level due to the
new product range. When the chemist
who is responsible for product development acts in our customer interface, he or
she receives immediate feedback from a
painter on the properties of a product that
is being tested. The properties of the new
system both during painting and in terms
of the end result are a step onto the next
level for us, enlightens Vierimaa.
19
Truck frames have been thoroughly coated with Teknos’ products. The basic elements of a chassis are primed with INFRALIT powder coating; TEKNOPLAST PRIMER 8-00 is used
as an intermediate coat on the frame, and a glossy finish is achieved by using full-gloss TEKNODUR 100 9-00 polyurethane top coat. The end result is a smooth, fully glossy surface
that is highly resistant to scratches.
Chemist Antti Karkola, who is responsible
for the development of the new painting
system at Teknos, is content with the end
result of cooperation.
– For paint development, the functionality of cooperation with a test customer is
extremely important. We have been able
to observe the functionality and properties
of the product in practice in Sisu’s painting chamber. As for the size and shape
of a frame, it is a challenging item to be
painted, so any feedback from a painter is
of utmost importance, Antti comments on
the cooperation with Sisu’s Master Painter
Åke Lemström.
Ready for use straight from the factory
Each Sisu Polar frame is designed and
manufactured with the use of the vehicle
in mind. Customers’ unique needs and requirements are taken into consideration in
the design of vehicles. Once a frame has
been assembled and painted, it is time to
start installing accessories. Components
comprise leading products in truck technology: The cab kit supplied by Daimler
AG is modified and new forms typical for
Sisu are created for the vehicle. The power source is a new, efficient and very low
emission engine that complies with Euro
VI standards. The equipment of a truck
continues with the installation of a transmission and an electrical system. Once
completed, a customer will receive a fullyequipped and ready-to-use vehicle.
20
A new product is studied and developed in a laboratory environment, but it is at least as important to get to monitor a customer’s painting process and to test a product’s functionality in practice. The truck factory in Karjaa has
become familiar to Teknos’ Chemist Antti Karkola.
Sisu – True Finnish expertise
Sisu is a strong brand in Finland as a developer and manufacturer of trucks
and military vehicles. The first Sisu trucks were completed in the summer
of 1932, so the company holds an important place in the history of Finnish
transportation vehicle industry. Trucks that have been designed for heavyduty work and especially for the conditions of the North are manufactured in
Sisu’s factory in Karjaa. In addition to its core business, the development of
heavy-duty vehicles, Sisu Auto provides consulting services related to vehicle
technology that are focused on export.
www.sisuauto.fi
Sisu Auto’s frame painting system
• INFRALIT EP 8026-05 epoxy powder coating
• TEKNOPLAST PRIMER 8-00 epoxy primer
• TEKNODUR 100 9-00 polyurethane top coat
21
text: Merja Jakobsson
photos: TEKNOS
Powder coating
of heavy
components
has become
more common
A few years ago, it was still quite unusual to use powder coating on large and heavy steel components.
The curing of the binder and hardener of powder coating requires elevated temperatures and large
components require large ovens and a longer time in the oven than usual. Nevertheless, environmental
friendliness, shorter processing time, increased capacity, more comfortable working environment,
and outstanding surface quality and anticorrosive protection are some of the reasons that make an
investment in a powder coating shop tempting.
Powder coating is a solid, two-component substance. A two-component reaction is activated at an elevated temperature (140–200°C). The curing of the
binder and hardener of powder coating
starts as the surface temperature of the
component increases, and the properties
of the paint film, such as colour, finish,
resistance to mechanical strain, UV radiation and chemicals, and a structured
surface are formed. Powder coating is
performed electrostatically, and the surfaces to be coated must be conductive
and earthed.
Best-Hall’s Production Manager
Kari Herronen (on the left) and
Teknos’ Jan Åkerlund and
the largest oven in Finland.
straight off the shelf,” adds CEO Hannu
Rimpioja.
“One rail can support around 800kg, and
three rails of bunks can fit into an oven at
a time,” says Veli-Matti Rimpioja, who is
responsible for the powder coating shop.
“Zero VOC emissions and a quick throughput time are clear advantages of powder
coating compared to wet painting. We use
powder coating on everything that can be
powder coated,” he continues.
Largest oven in Finland
Established in 1975, Best-Hall manufactures PVC-covered steel framework halls.
About two years ago, Best-Hall transferred
from a single-layer epoxy paint system to
powder coating. Shot-blast cleaned steel
frames are transferred onto a conveyor
that takes them into a painting booth. After powder coating, the components are
ovened at 190°C for 50 minutes, and after
cooling outside for about 15 minutes, they
are ready to be packed.
Zero VOC emissions
Pintakäsittely Rimpioja Oy from Kälviä
specialises in wet painting and powder
coating of single components and heavy
equipment, and fire protection coating
of load-bearing steel structures. Established in 1982, this family company started to use powder coating four years ago.
Handling large components is not a
problem at Rimpioja’s paint shop. Painting heavy equipment is just the tip of the
company’s expertise. Massive timber
bunks that are about three metres high
and 2.5 metres wide, and that can weigh
as much as 250kg each, can be trans-
22
ferred nimbly from pre-treatment through
the powder coating shop into an oven.
Timber bunks are blast cleaned to the preparation
grade Sa2½. In the picture from left to right: Pasi
Loukiainen, Pekka Rimpioja, Hannu Rimpioja and VeliMatti Rimpioja.
“Quick deliveries are also important to
us. Teknos can deliver all the colours
of RAL and Rautaruukki that we need,
“Environmental pressure was a major
factor in transferring to powder coating
as we use a lot of paint. Before, half a
working day was spent packaging components that had been painted the previous day. Thanks to powder coating,
the whole process is now considerably
faster,” says Production Manager Kari
Herronen.
Best-Hall’s investment of about 1.5 million in a powder coating shop has turned
out to be profitable. Many customers
even request that the products they have
ordered are powder coated.
23
Terminator XXL bunks have been manufactured out of Ruukki’s ultra-high-strength
and weather-resistant steel used for vehicles (Pintakäsittely Rimpioja Oy).
“Quality and reliable deliveries have been
decisive factors when selecting a paint
supplier,” states Best-Hall Oy’s CEO Leif
Fagernäs.
The oven in Best-Hall’s powder coating
shop is one of the largest ovens in the
Nordic countries, and it enables the powder coating of components that weigh as
much as a thousand kilogrammes. The
exterior surface of the oven feels cool
even if the temperature inside the oven is
around 200°C. Three air curtains prevent
cold air from flowing into the oven as components are transferred outside to cool. In
the winter, the heat from the oven can be
used for heating buildings, for example.
Three air curtains prevent cold air from flowing into the oven as components are
transferred outside to cool (Best-Hall Oy).
a four-phase wash on the line, which includes a two-phase wash, activation,
zinc phosphating, and rinsing. The zinc
phosphating forms a thin zinc phosphate
film on the surface of the metal that withstands corrosion and enhances the adherence of paint.
Before assembly, welded frames that
weigh around 300kg are pre-treated with
24
Thanks to the quick throughput time,
powder coating is perfect for the flexible and innovative production process of
MSK Cabins.
example. Powder coating is ideal for the
surface treatment of tanks,” says Production Manager Jarkko Kulmala.
Relicomp uses environment-friendly phosphate-free pre-treatment that improves the
adherence of paint and resistance to corrosion and that requires only a very short
period of contact.
Complex structures
Relicomp Ltd is specialised in sheet metal
technology, and they have a brand new
factory in Kurikka. The renovation that
was started in the spring of 2014 was
completed in August, and there was an
opening ceremony for the factory at the
end of October.
Short throughput time
At peak performance, more than 50
unique tractor safety cabins are manufactured at MSK Cabins’ factory each day.
“We have 5–6 different framework models that are prepared on an assembly line
as complete safety cabins according to
a customer’s order. At the assembly line,
numbered cabin frames are transferred
in the correct order along an automated
conveyor line from one assembly point to
the next,” describes Department Engineer
Jarmo Esala.
“We want to meet our customers’ high
quality requirements. Therefore, we have
been using INFRALIT powder coatings
right from the start,” says Production
Manager Risto Kortelainen.
At peak performance, more than 50 unique tractor safety cabins are manufactured at MSK Cabins’ factory each day.
Thanks to the quick throughput time, powder coating
is perfect for the flexible and innovative production
process of MSK Cabins.
Located in Ylihärmä, the company has
experience of over 60 years in the development and manufacturing of cabins.
The transition from Teknos’ liquid paints to
INFRALIT powder coatings was based on
a close and persevering cooperation with
the paint manufacturer that has lasted for
decades.
Both unique components and series of
components are manufactured at Relicomp’s factory. Creative thinking and
ability to solve problems are required for
hanging and surface treating components
of various shapes and sizes. The size of
components painted at Relicomp’s factory ranges from small components that are
just a couple of centimetres made out of
sheet metal, to heavy frames of truck cabins and the fuel tanks of forest machines.
“The tank of a forest machine is a challenging component to manufacture, and
it cannot be cleaned by immersion, for
manufacturing prototypes and small series of components. Sheet forming enables the implementation of various shapes
quickly and cost-efficiently.
Massive steel components
With 50 years’ experience, SKS Toijala
Works Oy manufactures steel frames
and the booms of machines. All the
work stages of constructing the booms
– welding, machining, surface treatment,
assembly and testing – are performed at
the same workshop using what is known
as a “flow line” principle. The lifting capacity at the workshop is as much as 75
tonnes.
“The booms of forest machines are pretreated using iron phosphating, and the
booms are coated with powder coatings.
Booms weigh as much as 400–500kg.
For hanging the booms, we use hooks
that we have made ourselves so they
do not leave any marks on the exterior
surface of the booms,” says Production
Manager Mikko Eloranta.
Powder coating is ideal for the surface treatment of
even the most complex structures, such as the fuel
tanks of forest machines (Relicomp Ltd).
Relicomp Ltd is the only Finnish company that uses the advanced incremental
sheet forming technology. The incremental sheet forming method (forming without
a mould) is most commonly used when
The steel structures of the most massive
machines, such as TW LogStacker, are
wet painted using Teknos’ high solids
TEKNODUR COMBI 3430 and TEKNODUR COMBI 3560 polyurethane paints.
The lifting capacity of a log stacker is
16–30 tonnes and lifting height is nine
metres.
For hanging the booms of forest machines, SKS Toijala Works uses hooks that do not leave any marks on
the exterior surface of the booms.
User-friendly powder coating
Working at a powder coating shop is
comfortable as powder coatings are
completely solvent-free and they do not
contain any volatile organic compounds
(VOC). Equipment and clothing can be
cleaned easily using a compressed air
sprayer. In addition, powder coatings can
be recycled efficiently, and powder coating waste can be burnt for energy. Powder coating is a quick, efficient and economical coating method.
25
text: Hanna Paavilainen
photos: Riku Isohella
PuuMera Kivistö
• Dwelling area 10,120 m²
• Highest peak seven storeys high
• 186 apartments, of which 107 are rentals
and 79 right of residence apartments
• Architectural design: Vuorelma-Arkkitehdit Oy
• Construction design: Sweco Oy
• Building contractor: Rakennusliike Reponen Oy
• Intermediate floors and balconies: VVR Wood Oy
• Wooden elements: Koskisen Oy
• External cladding and glulam beams: Pölkky Oy
• Windows and balcony doors:
Skaala Windows and Doors Ltd
• Painting: LTU-Urakointi Oy
Teknos products used in the project
• AQUATOP 2760
• AQUATOP 2920
• EKORA series’ paints
• INFRALIT PE 8350-15
• NORDICA EKO 3330-03
• TEKNOL 1881
Teknos shines on the
surfaces of Europe’s largest
wooden apartment block
Next summer, Europe’s largest wooden apartment block, PuuMera Kivistö, will be completed
at the Housing Fair area in Vantaa. The project is a passive energy house with new technology,
combining ecological aspects, the comfort of living and a high degree of domestic construction
work. The building contractor for this unique project is Rakennusliike Reponen Oy.
PuuMera Kivistö is attracting the attention it deserves in the scenic landscape of
Kivistö in Vantaa. The framing of this modern, wooden apartment block has been
assembled using ready-made wooden elements, and the construction work takes
place entirely beneath a construction tent.
This guarantees the wood remains constantly dry during all the stages of construction. Underneath the tent it is warm,
regardless of the rain and sleet that usually drizzle down in March.
“Thanks to the tent, the construction work
can take place throughout the year, which
makes it quick. We were able to start the
indoor work and the heating of the lower
floors already before the roof had been
finished,” says Managing Director Mika
Airaksela from Rakennusliike Reponen.
Efficient and optimised construction
The construction project has proceeded
well and on schedule. In 2011, Reponen
built a five-storey wooden apartment
block, Heinolan PuuMera, and the experience from that project has now been
utilised effectively. The wooden elements
that are ready to be installed are delivered by their Finnish manufacturers to the
26
construction site covered in plastic. The
protective material is not removed until the
element is ready to be installed. This way,
even unfinished wooden material stays
protected against moisture and sunlight.
Construction is also faster and less expensive since there is no need to spend
time drying the structures as in buildings
with concrete framing.
Teknos heavily involved
Teknos products have been used in PuuMera Kivistö on several surfaces. The
panels for the external cladding and the
glulam for the balconies have been delivered by Pölkky Oy from Kuusamo, which
has used Teknos products for several
years. The cladding has been finished with
a high-quality combination of TEKNOL
1881 alkyd primer and NORDICA EKO
3330-03 industrial topcoat. The industrial
finishing has been applied twice, since the
constructor wanted to assemble readypainted cladding elements.
The glulam beams as well as the wooden
parts of the timber-aluminium windows
and the balcony doors, manufactured by
Skaala Windows and Doors, have been
finished with AQUATOP paints, which
are known for their excellent weather resistance. GSB- and Qualicoat-approved
INFRALIT PE 8350-15 polyester powder
paint has been used for the aluminium
parts of the windows. Teknos products
have also been used for the indoor painting at PuuMera Kivistö. Finland’s largest
painting company LTU-Urakointi Oy has
used several Teknos decorative paints in
the project. For example, the interior walls
have been painted with the water-based,
solvent-free paints in the EKORA series.
Wooden construction gaining markets
The construction of wooden apartment
blocks has taken a huge step forward in
residential construction in Finland over the
past few years. Successful construction
projects are proof of the diverse possibilities of wood.
“The most visible benefits of wooden construction compared to concrete include
higher tolerance in measurements regarding the framing, lighter elements and the
ease of attaching the elements to each
other. During the construction, we can
use a hoist inside the tent, which makes
it easier to install the elements,” Airaksela
says.
There are also areas of development and
challenges in wooden construction. So far,
experience of building wooden apartment
blocks has been non-existent and there
has been a shortage of designers specialising in wooden construction. Moreover,
the combustible nature of wood sets tighter fire safety requirements for buildings
than other construction materials. However, a properly installed automatic sprinkler
system makes a wooden building at least
as fire-safe as a concrete building.
The construction of wooden apartment
blocks now has a strong foothold in Finland, and the trend is clearly upwards.
Teknos wants to be involved in this development with successful product innovations, both now and in the future.
27
Tvilum operates on an international level
with representatives, sales partners and
distribution centres all over the world and
sells its products through the classic furniture retail business as well as via online
dealers. The company also ships directly
to end customers upon request. 1,250
boxes of Tvilum furniture are shipped
worldwide every hour – that makes roughly 10 million a year!
Tvilum manufactures its products exclusively at its four plants in Denmark. Stateof-the-art production lines and 50 years of
experience in manufacturing flat-packed
furniture enable the company to produce
at competitive prices in its home country.
Moreover, the company focuses on developing and optimising its production and
design so that it can meet international
standards and the needs of end customers at all times.
100% UV protection with UVILUX
Tvilum has relied on Teknos coatings
since 2012. “We were looking for a new
supplier when we wanted to launch a new
production line for high-gloss surfaces,”
explains Tvilum purchasing director Karl
Aage Jørgensen. “This not only called for
good products, but also for a supplier with
the experience and technical expertise to
support a process like that. And that’s ex-
actly what we found with Teknos.”
And Teknos has been Tvilum’s main supplier ever since. The high-gloss coating
makes use of a 100% UV-curing system with UVILUX sealer, UVILUX primer
and UVILUX topcoat with a gloss level
of 90. Tvilum uses the system with rollers instead of the usual spray method
– a special requirement which was met
thanks to Teknos technical support. The
coating meets the most demanding international standards, such as requirements
for chemical resistance.
Cabinet doors in particular receive a highgloss finish using this system, usually with
an opaque coating in white, black or various trendy colours. For edges and interiors, Tvilum uses a matte coating with a
gloss level of 20. The company also relies
on Teknos when it comes to finishes with
conventional gloss levels. “We are currently launching an additional production line
at a different plant here in Denmark where
we will also be using Teknos coatings
continuously for a normal, more matte finish,” Karl Aage Jørgensen confirms. This
means that more and more customers all
over the world can look forward to furniture with finishes from Teknos.
Plenty of space for light and nature
Lacuna exterior folding doors with Teknos coating
Exterior folding doors are becoming more
and more popular. Even with a large opening, they are easy to handle and provide
outstanding thermal insulation. This is why
Lacuna A/S, a Danish company based in
Langeskov on the island of Fünen, concentrates on the manufacture and distribution of wooden exterior folding doors.
Managing Director Henrik Brunsø says:
“We are convinced that folding doors are
the best way of bringing light and nature
into the home. Our doors allow an opening of up to 90% and – even at over 4 m
wide – are child’s play to move.”
www.tvilum.com
© Lacuna A/S
28
Huge variety, high quality
Lacuna offers wooden exterior folding
doors up to 6 m wide and 3 m high. The
range of options is practically limitless.
Lacuna markets its products primarily in
Denmark and Norway, but is now also
increasingly penetrating the UK and German markets. The doors are manufactured
on state-of-the-art production facilities in
Langeskov. Henrik Brunsø: “We claim to
make the most durable and best thermally
insulating folding doors on the market, suitable for climate conditions anywhere from
Greenland to South Africa. To ensure this,
we use only the best raw materials.”
Coating with Teknos
To achieve a high level of dimensional stability, Lacuna uses mahogany and eucalyptus for oiled surfaces and heat-treated
beech for opaque finishes. The company
trusts in the quality of Teknos coatings. To
obtain a particularly resistant, durable surface, the frames are primed with two layers of AQUA PRIMER 2907-42 and, after
sanding between coats, top-coated with
two to three layers of AQUATOP 260082. “The Teknos coating perfectly meets
our high quality standards,” says Henrik
Brunsø.
© Lacuna A/S
Danish manufacturer Tvilum ships around
eight million pieces of furniture all over the
world each year. Founded in 1962 and
based in Fårvang (near Aarhus), the company ranks among the world’s most prominent manufacturers of ready-to-assemble
furniture. The extensive product range covers flat-packed furniture for living rooms,
bedrooms and children’s rooms, as well
as offices, kitchens and bathrooms. Tvilum
focuses on quality and attractive design at
various price points.
© Lacuna A/S
Sophisticated furniture surfaces
“Exterior folding
doors are the best
way of bringing
light and nature
into the home.”
Henrik Brunsø
Managing Director,
Lacuna A/S
The Lacuna production facilities will also
be well utilized in the future: “In new-build
construction as well as renovation, there
is a growing demand for exterior folding
doors. This is partly due to the fact that
our triple-glazed products meet passive
house standards with Uw values up to 0.6
W/m²K. I am absolutely convinced that we
have the right product at the right time.”
www.lacuna.dk
29
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The story of
Teknos began
in a hen house
Offshore drilling platforms painted
with Teknos paints in the 1980s
The offshore drilling platform constructed in 1984 in Mäntyluoto, Finland, was painted with Teknos paints. The semi-submersibletype drilling platform Glomar Arctic III consists of some 14,000 tonnes of steel. The paint needed for this massive structure amounted to 30,000 litres, and the paint job took two and a half years.
It all began in 1948, when an old farm
with a hen house was leased for the purposes of paint making in Tuomarila, Espoo. The hen house was renovated and
came to house a laboratory. Production
started after this, with the strength of one
man and a pan mill. Teknos’s first product was the caseine paint Tuomo, named
after the locality of Tuomarila. Ferrex, the
anti-corrosive paint that also won acclaim
abroad, was developed the very next
year, in 1949.
Our company’s beginnings have been
noted in the design of our logo, which
sports both a cockerel and a paintbrush.
”The two, nearly 80-metre pontoons are topped with pillars with a diameter of more
than 10 metres. The rig’s main deck is at a height of 35 metres, to which the drill rig
adds another 35 metres. For drilling jobs, the platform is anchored from its corners
with eight anchors. The anchors are made of more than 13 kilometres of chain
alone.” (Source: in-house magazine 3/1984 of Teknos-Maalit Oy.)
The drilling platform was painted with chlorinated rubber paint, typically employed
in the painting of steel surfaces that will be exposed to climatic stress.
Source: in-house magazine 2/1982 of Teknos-Maalit Oy
Finland’s roads
have been painted
with Teknos
paints for decades
Examining paint
also goes beneath
the surface
Teknos paints have been used to paint Finland’s roads since
the 1960s. In addition to the road network, our paints are
used to paint the markings on airfield pavements.
30
What makes road marking paints so special is the fact that
their selection must account for the application conditions,
the stress caused by traffic, the road’s width and location, the
quality of the road surface and the weather in various seasons. Road marking paints must be particularly long-lasting
and wear resistant, given that, in addition to traffic, road surfaces are exposed to sub-zero temperatures, the sun, moisture, shocks and other stress. Furthermore, due to the application conditions attributable to variations in weather, the
paints must dry very quickly. This is fairly challenging in sultry
weather.
In the 1980s, Neste Oy used the oil tanker Jurmo, which is 340 metres long. The
supertanker’s underwater hull covers an area of more than 2.6 hectares, which
corresponds to nearly four football pitches. The anchor of the ship weighs more
than 21 tonnes, and the anchor chain, which is nearly 800 metres long, weighs
more than 220 tonnes. In spring 1981, the hull of the tanker was painted with a
chlorinated rubber coating and the deck and the pipes on the deck with products
in the Ferrex series manufactured by Teknos.
Road marking paints are tested in both laboratory conditions
and where the real action takes place. In field tests, the paint
is applied on the road surface, after which its values of varying kinds are measured at certain intervals.
The practices of the 1980s are still in use today. Diving continues to be one of the
alternatives for examining the underwater paint surface of a ship.
After the ship had travelled the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf,
and the seas around Japan and Africa for 18 months, enduring a variety of strains
during that time, the paint surface of the ship was examined by diving below the
ship – how else – while she was anchored outside Sköldvik.
31
Painted by Teknos 1/2015: 0000100296