«1988 1989-1990 1990s »

A new £60 million Coatings Three complex, on the site of the original Marsh/Coatings One Department, is completed with new coil-to-coil lines for electro galvanising and organic painting. Part of the development includes the refurbishment of the original No. 1 electro galvanising line at a cost of £32.5 million. Completed in April 1989 the new No. 3 electro galv. line (Zodiac Project) has an annual capacity of 178,000 prime tonnes. It produces Zintec pure zinc coated strip and a new product, Nizec, nickel-zinc coated strip, to meet the requirements for wider corrosion resistant strip steel for use in cars with long-term warranties. It applies zinc or zinc/nickel alloy to cold reduced strip up to 1,640 mm wide. Nizec is produced under licence to Sumitomo Metal Industries of Japan.

The new No.2 Colorcoat paint coating line (MACE Project), completed in 1990, operates at up to 100 metres a minute and processes strip up to 1,650 mm wide mainly for the automotive and construction industries. The line’s annual capacity is 110,000 tonnes. It produces the Colorcoat ® range of products and also Durazec, nickel zinc substrate with a lacquer coating for whom the sole customer is the Nissan motor company.

Europe’s first million tonne capacity coating plant

Shotton has become the first works in Europe capable of coating 1,000,000 tonnes of steel strip a year, with four lines for applying either zinc or zinc alloy coatings by either hot dipping or electro plating, and two lines for the application of a range of organic paints. The metallic coatings protect the steel from corrosion and the addition of paint gives a colourful finish as well as further extending product life.

The semi and pre-finished coated products are used widely in the construction, automotive, consumer durables and engineering industries. End uses include wall and roof cladding, car body parts, domestic appliances, electrical switchgear and ducting.