The Challenge
To be able to coat large truck bodies that required a very large booth. The problem the team faced was how to manage the enormous air volume needed for safety and containment air, how to handle this large volume of air loaded with recovered powder, and how to be able to separate the powder from the large air volume so that it could be reused.

The Solution
We often hear the phrase “mind over matter,” but even though it happens every day, it is rare to read stories about minds innovatively manipulating matter with known technology to achieve a specific goal. What follows is an old story of accomplishment that is little known even in the powder coatings industry.
Two of the largest powder systems in the world were designed and installed in the United States. One booth, for primer coat application, measures approximately 164 FT (50 Meters) and the other was built for future use of top coating or top clear coat. This second booth measures 186 FT (56.7 Meters). The true innovation involves managing volume of air, powder collection, powder recovery, and in the automatic return, recovery of powder for re-use in the primer booth.

In the mid 1970s the design team was assigned this task. The problem the team faced was how to manage the enormous air volume that loaded with recovered powder. After several late night sessions, the team came up with a very simple solution. They decided to combine two technologies to collect and recover powder: the twin air belt system and the cartridge filter recovery system. The team then created the system to coat trucks.

The booth was two levels high. The upper level coated the trucks with both automatic and manual powder electrostatic guns; the lower floor constituted the combined recovery system. For those who may not be familiar with the Twin-Air System, better known initially as the “Flying Carpet,” it was unique in the fact that it used two separate air systems. One air system represented the high-volume, low-pressure air, referred to as safety and/or containment air, which is the air that keeps the powder concentration in the booth at a safe level and maintains air flow at all openings at a minimum of 125 FPM. The second air system was the low-volume high static pressure air that is used to recover the powder and bring it back for re-use.

The separation of the two air systems gave the twin-air belt system a tremendous advantage. The high volume safety air went through the filter belt at low velocity and low static pressure where powder was removed from the air by the filter belt. The very low static pressure allowed the powder to just rest on top of the belt while the belt was constantly moving. The belt carried the collected powder out of the booth to a point where it could be collected by the recovery air at high vacuum. This was accomplished by placing a pick-up head mounted on the belt at a location outside the proximity of the booth and the high volume airflow. That vacuum pick up head required only 140 CFM at a high static pressure to remove the powder from the belt. The vacuum head was connected to what was known as a “Mini-Cyclone”, in case of multi-color systems, or “Cycart” for minimal color change.

The Cycart again combined two known technologies to accomplish the job. The Cycart was a combination of a cyclone with a cartridge filter imbedded in the center of the cyclone so that the Cycart was nearly 100 % efficient. Since the vacuum head required only 140 CFM, it needed only a small filter to accomplish the recovery. The majority of the powder was removed from the recovery air by the cyclonic action. Any powder remaining in the air was collected by the cartridge filter. The Cycart was connected to an after (Hepa) filter, which allowed air to return to the room.

Since the booth was so large, the initial problem the design team encountered was the amount of safety and/or containment air needed. Such a significant volume of air would have required a prohibitive number of belts in the lower part of the booth. Another advantage of the Twin-Air system was the slow moving air that flowed through the belt. The air was evenly balanced over the surface of the belt and was restricted to about 40 FPM at a low static pressure. It was extremely important that the powder not be forced through the belt, but rather just rest on top of the belt and be carried out to be recovered by the vacuum head.
This requirement initiated the idea of combining the two filtering systems. Cartridge filters were installed in the side walls of the lower section. The large volume safety air was then divided by being directed to the side wall cartridge filters and the moving belt. The side wall filters were designed so that the suction was done in the base of the mini module. In so doing, the design team was able to slow down the air velocity of the air proceeding to the belt filter. Due to gravity and airflow direction into the side cartridge modules, the remaining air carried the majority of the powder to be deposited on the moving belt.

Benefit to Client
The most significant benefit was the new design’s ability to reduce the number of twin air belts in each booth. As a result of the combined systems design, the primer booth required only 21 twin air belt systems and the top coating booth utilized only 24. Many other features were designed into the system as well, including for example a quick change of the filter belt if needed and a constant pulsation of the cartridge filters in order to keep them clean. The pulsed powder automatically fell on the recovery belt below so that it could be recovered.

Conclusion
All of this was accomplished by a very small team of dedicated engineers who were driven to create a “better mouse trap.” The management of the team responsible for the design and installation of the systems now manages Modean Industries, Inc., a company which is still innovating and installing powder systems worldwide.

The new lighting will help address growing security concerns as Haiti stabilizes and starts the rebuilding process. The lights are powered with solar-electric panels, so they require no electrical wiring or infrastructure and allow for a commercial scale lighting project to be installed and operational in only hours, instead of days or weeks.

Due to the urgency of the situation, there was no time to wait for production. SolarOne worked out immediate arrangements with one of its long-standing customers; Sandia National Laboratories, who agreed to delay delivery of their order, and allow the solar lighting systems to be re-directed to Haiti.

The lights are SolarOne’s Shoebox Series lights, which employ advanced SO-Bright® Technology and high-brightness LEDs with dedicated optics. These systems, originally intended to illuminate a parking lot for one of Sandia’s facilities, will be used for security lighting around temporary medical facilities and encampments in Haiti.

Boston-based non-profit Partners In Health (PIH) is managing the shipment and deployment of the lights. Although the project is receiving support from the Clinton Foundation, additional donations are needed to help fund this effort, as well as many others of this nature. Please visit http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti for further details.

“Lighting is needed at temporary housing sites and medical facilities to increase security and to enable teams to care for patients around the clock. These solar lights, which are not dependent on the availability of electricity or fuel, will play an important role. We appreciate that SolarOne, with support from its customer-base, was able to organize a quick response”, says Partners In Health’s Cassia van der Hoof Holstein.

“As a Company that focuses on developing autonomous technology and solutions that can be deployed in all types of environments, it’s very fulfilling to see our lights making a difference in Haiti” says SolarOne’s President, Moneer Azzam. “It’s an honor to provide something that can serve both the Haitian earthquake survivors, as well as dedicated front-line workers from PIH and the UN. We are also extremely fortunate to have loyal customers who are willing to accommodate an urgent situation like this”, adds Azzam.

In spite of conflicting reports about the economic recovery, Modean Industries, in cooperation with its affiliates and suppliers, is pleased to report positive performance to date. Presently, Modean Industries – partnering with Amiberica, Inc. and ITW Gema – is in the process of shipping a large powder system, unique in its performance capabilities, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Modean Industries and its affiliates have been very active in the Middle East; in particular the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we are currently pursuing new business activities in North Africa and Lebanon.

On the home front, business opportunities here in the United States are emerging and providing a good foundation for 2010. Recently, Modean Industries completed several projects that we hope to deliver in this calendar year. We are also actively pursuing projects in cooperation with ITW Gema and have performed several customer-simulated tests at the ITW Gema facility in Indianapolis, Indiana.

We will continue to bring you news updates over the coming months. Look for our upcoming case study on aluminum extrusions to be published in November!

Download the PDF of this interesting article!

Indianapolis, Ind., ITW Gema and MKB llc (Halo Coatings) announced that they have reached an agreement on a strategic global partnership to promote a new technology, known as the Halo Process. This unique process utilizes powder coatings that are designed to reflect light; and this major breakthrough in coating materials is expected to impact markets where nighttime safety or reflectivity is important.

Retro-reflectivity is the return of light to your eye along the same path as the light source – the functional principle in all nighttime safety tape used on products such as street signs, truck delineation, or bicycle reflectors. With the Halo Process, retro-reflective powder coatings can now offer tremendous benefits in place of tape application and “light up at night” for improved safety.
Aaron Bates, Chief Executive Officer, MKB states – “Aside from being a pioneer in the powder coating industry, we are glad to partner with ITW Gema so that our customers take advantage of the expertise and support they need to use the Halo Coating Process.”

“Halo Coatings has developed a truly innovative material technology that opens markets to the improved benefits of powder coating, while enhancing the end use product appearance. We are excited to be an integral part of the solution for this application with Halo Coating’s products,” says Chris Merritt, General Manager of ITW Gema, North America.

This new partnership allows ITW Gema, the world’s leading supplier of powder coating application and recovery equipment and Halo Coatings, the leading developer of retro-reflective powder coatings, to join together and provide a manufacturing solution for producing products with a retro-reflective surface on nearly any substrate, and in three dimensional configurations and shapes. Guardrails that become life saving rays of light at night; bicycles that can be fully seen in the dark from over 1,000 feet away and hi-viz shopping carts are just a few of the new products that are now made possible with the ITW Gema/Halo Coatings partnership.

MKB is a privately held, Ohio based, Sales and Technology Company offering products and services for any highway, industrial, transportation and consumer markets. Visit www.halocoatings.com or call (216) 916-7788.

ITW Gema, a business unit of the Illinois Tool Works Corporation, with North American Headquarters located Indianapolis, Indiana, provides application and recovery solutions for the powder coating market. For more information, contact Karen Walters by telephone at (317) 298-5072, by email at kwalters@itwgema.com, or visit us on the web at www.itwgema.us.

Modean Industries, Inc. is a powder coating systems integrator and a Representative of ITW Gema. To learn more about us and for additional information, please visit our website at www.modeanindustries.com. We can also be reached by telephone at 203-371-6625 or via email at hazzam@modeanindustries.com.

Indianapolis, Indiana — ITW Gema’s NEW Magic Center® is the perfect powder management system to achieve XTreme Productivity™ for making multiple color changes.

The revolutionary Magic Center is the best color management system available for powder coating. Included in the system are the application controls, the gun mover axis controls and the fresh powder supply. The fully automatic cleaning process reduces color change times significantly and the Magic Center is quick to install and easy to operate!

The OptiSpeeder® is the heart of the Magic Center and combines the powder feed and cleaning functions into one compact unit. The OptiSpeeder’s improved fluidization and low maintenance pumps deliver powder to the guns using less compressed air, resulting in a softer powder cloud for improved transfer efficiency. During the Magic Center’s automated cleaning, the OptiSpeeder empties the remaining powder for reuse, and purges the pumps and all of the powder hoses… quickly and efficiently. Because the OptiSpeeder is a completely sealed and closed system – this is a dustless process! The “one-button cleaning operation” allows one operator to complete a total color change in 10 minutes or less!

The Magic Center Powder Management System is a complement to ITW Gema’s Magic Cylinder® and Magic Compact® powder coating booths. All powder coating system controls are integrated into the Magic Center’s compact design, making it the ideal color management solution for the Magic Series™ booths. With its advanced “one-button” automated cleaning process, color changes are streamlined and times are cut significantly. The Magic Center is easily integrated into any configuration, whether automatic, pre-coating, touch-up stations or any combination. Almost any solution is possible!

Learn how to get Quick Color Changes for your Powder Coating System, by contacting ITW Gema at (800) 628-0601 or by email at powdersales@itwgema.com.

ITW Gema continues to be a pioneer in the powder coating industry and a global manufacturer of superior quality powder coating equipment. As a business unit of the Illinois Tool Works Corporation, ITW Gema operates its North American Headquarters from Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information, contact Karen Walters by telephone at (317) 298-5072, by email at kwalters@itwgema.com or on the web at www.itwgema.us.

Register Today for ITW Gema’s ServiceNet Training Class!
This hands-on class is designed for Automatic and Manual System Users

Dates:  June 10 & 11, 2009
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

For complete details and to register for this class:
Download Training Brochure

Also please note: Upcoming Application & Maintenance Training Dates for 2009:
September 15 & 16, 2009
December 8 & 9, 2009

In 1968 Hani Azzam was working on a government project jointly run by the US Navy and Bell Laboratories in Germany. He did not go there looking to discover a solvent-free coating process, but that’s what he found. Nearly by chance, he was introduced to the concept of “electrostatic powder coating” during a meeting. An accomplished young engineer, Hani was managing his own division and on the way up in his company. But the idea of powder coating possessed him and he decided to start his own company promoting this process — one which was largely unknown in the market. The broad range of possibilities promised by the process made the trials and tribulations of starting a new company seem worthwhile. Besides, it was a dream, a challenge.

In 1969, no one in the United States knew much about powder coating, a method by which electrically charged powder coating material is spray-applied to a grounded metal work piece. Electrostatic attraction helps direct and hold the powder to the part being coated until heat is added to flow the powder together and cure it to form a durable, high quality finish. Hani started his venture by writing position papers, giving lectures and crisscrossing the country to demonstrate the concept to potential customers. It was hard work, but patience and persistence eventually paid off. In collaboration with several partners, Hani successfully incorporated Interrad Corporation, which later became Modean Industries, Inc.

Spring forward to 2009: Powder coating has become the standard by which all other coatings are judged. But that is only the beginning. Powder coatings now play a critical role in our environmental efforts and are key to our sustaining a “green” culture throughout the world. In addition to its many uses, powder coating’s utilization in the renewable energy field, such as with solar and wind power, is adding to the enormous growth and potential of those markets. In fact, powder coating’s ability to provide long life under harsh outdoor exposure has allowed the solar industry to expand into new fields such as outdoor lighting and other unique applications.

Lighting Fixtures and Gas Cylinders are Powder Coated automatically. Powder Coating is pollution free. Up to 99% of powder overspray can be captured and recycled. It complies with water and air pollution control regulations

Moneer Azzam

Majoring in mechanical engineering with a focus in thermodynamics and heat transfer, Moneer Azzam’s primary goal when he graduated from college in the early 1980s was to launch a career in the renewable energy business. It turned out to be a circuitous route. Moneer first worked in the nuclear energy field, then moving to radar before landing a job in photovoltaic (solar electric) panel development. Eventually, the lure of starting his own enterprise became too irresistible and he set off to start a business that develops complete solar powered products serving high-value applications. What possessed Moneer to leave the comfort and security of his job to start his own company? His strong belief in renewable energy and his dedication to its advancement fueled him to persevere and establish his company, SolarOne Solutions.

Today, SolarOne Solutions (solarone.net) transforms the power of the sun into effective and reliable off-grid solutions. It deploys its SolarOne® Lighting Systems, SO-Bright™ Lighting Control Technology and Harvester™ systems across the globe for a wide range of applications and customers, including major college campuses, government laboratories and municipalities. SolarOne lights operate independently of the electric grid, relying on a solar panel for their single power source. This ensures that the lights remain lit, even during grid-connected power shortages. Their independent power source additionally enables them to be sited flexibly and installed without incurring the expense of trenching and repaving. SolarOne Solutions’ utilization of long-life powder-coated components makes possible the production of overhead lights for roadways, pathways, sidewalks, parking lots, and bus shelters.

Another of SolarOne’s inventions, the Harvester™ Micro-Utility System platform, is optimized for micro-utility applications, providing water purification, lighting, remote power, and wireless telecommunication. The system has been used in settings that range from a coffee cooperative in Tanzania to the military theatre in Afghanistan; from hurricane relief efforts in Haiti to street concerts in Boulder, Colorado. Again, powder coating played an important role in this product’s ability to operate in such a wide range of environments.
As with most small businesses in “cutting edge” technologies, the history of SolarOne® Solutions Inc. revolves around perseverance, flexibility and the development of creative solutions to complex challenges. The company started as a joint venture orchestrated by Moneer between a major corporation and a state agency. Moneer acquired the resulting corporate entity and brought on angel investors along with talented, dedicated staff. Ultimately, through venture backing, the company has developed into a fast-growing corporation guided by a board of veterans in the lighting, LED, and high tech industries. In 2008, SolarOne expanded its manufacturing and administrative facilities in response to its growing business and the burgeoning market for its products.

Several components of Solar Lights are Powder Coated for durability in outdoor exposure as shown in Solar Lighting Installations at the Woodstock Monument in Bethel Woods NY and Fairleigh Dickenson University in Hackensack, NJ

Dean Azzam

Following a post-graduation tour of Europe and North Africa, Dean Azzam returned to the US eager to find work. He first landed a job in consulting engineering, then joined a utility company as an applications engineer working on energy and utility cost-saving strategies with large commercial, municipal and institutional customers. A primary focus of his work became thermal storage systems involving client operation of cooling systems during the night, hours when electricity is more plentiful and rates are much lower. Dean excelled in his position and was rapidly promoted to manage the group.

The company Dean eventually founded, Aztech Engineers Inc. (aztecheng.com), is a mechanical, electrical, fire protection and plumbing engineering design firm. Having recently been named Engineer of Record for the largest photovoltaic system on the East Coast and having designed two of the largest geothermal heat pump systems in Connecticut, Aztech Engineers has now established itself as a leader in innovative energy savings and renewable energy generation projects for buildings.

For Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) in Willimantic, Connecticut, Aztech Engineers was selected to design the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems when ECSU decided to renovate its high-rise dormitory. Originally, the building had been heated with electric resistance and was not cooled. ECSU wanted to simultaneously add cooling and improve the building’s energy efficiency. Aztech Engineering recommended a geothermal heat pump, a system which uses the naturally-occurring free energy below the earth’s surface to improve the efficiency of heating and cooling, as an approach that could meet both these objectives. Although the building was considered large for such a system at the time, Aztech was confident that geothermal was the right solution. ECSU showed foresight and the project went forward. Once the system had been completed, ECSU was able to heat and cool the dormitory at a substantially reduced cost. The risk was more than worth it.

Having shown its ability to take on cutting edge projects such as ECSU’s, Aztech moved forward to gain expertise in photovoltaic systems. Today Aztech has become one of the leading firms providing inspection services for the Connecticut Clean Energy funds photovoltaic incentive program.

Rooftop Photovoltaic Array, Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, NJ

Humble Origins

These three men clearly share several traits, including; an entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for clean and renewable technologies, the same last name and with it the same humble origins. In the late 1950s, Hani was a Palestinian refugee, homeless and with an uncertain future, but he sensed there was a world of opportunity waiting in the United States. He was willing to work hard and take risks. He did and, eventually became a naturalized American citizen. Moneer and Dean are Hani’s two sons, both born and raised in the United States. Both of them leaving the comforts of a stable workplace, to pursue their dreams and take on the challenge of being entrepreneurs pursuing cutting-edge solutions is the recurring theme of their stories, personally and professionally. Through its despair, the Diaspora has a way of sculpting the character traits needed to solve very difficult problems. America’s system has a way of nurturing those very traits, allowing them to surface into positions of leadership.

Writing for the Economist in its March 14-20, 2009 special report, journalist Adrian Wooldridge says:

For all its economic woes, America remains a beacon of entrepreneurialism. Many of those small businesses rapidly grew big. America was the first country to ditch managerial capitalism for the entrepreneurial variety. An army of such variety exposed the shortcomings of the old industrial corporation and launched a wave of entrepreneurship.

America has found the transition to a more entrepreneurial economy easier than its competitors because entrepreneurialism is so deeply rooted in its history. It was founded and then settled by innovators and risk takers who were willing to sacrifice old certainties for new opportunities. They are comfortable with the risk taking that is at the heart of the entrepreneurialism.

The story of this family’s pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams in America is testimony to Mr Wooldrige’s hypothesis. Where else in the world can people like Hani Azzam so readily emerge from the most desperate of situations, not only to establish a new life, but to take on the most daunting challenges that confronts the world today?

To learn more about the Azzam family of companies, please visit the websites of Modean Industries (modeanindustries.com), Aztech Engineering (aztecheng.com) and SolarOne Solutions (solarone.net).

As promised, we’re reporting back to you on the outcome of this year’s meeting, which, by all accounts, was a great success. While the participant group was somewhat smaller than in years past, the central focus and theme of the meeting was the potential for growth and opportunities in the industrial market.

Look for new products on quick color change and recovery equipment that promises to be more competitive from the ITW Gema group. And if you haven’t yet heard, they recently reached a partnership agreement with Halo Coatings to promote a new technology that utilizes powder coatings designed to reflect light. This “retro-reflectivity” coating will no doubt impact markets where reflectivity, such as on street signs and pathways, or night-time safety are important.

The ITW Ransburg team introduced their new “Vector Solo” electrostatic line of hand guns that offers several options in the portable manual liquid application field.

We will be posting information on this new equipment and more in very near future so please revisit our News & Updates page soon!

The ITW 2009 Distributor Meeting kicks off on Sunday, March 8 with a welcome reception at the Trump International Beach Resort situated on ten beautiful ocean front acres in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

This year’s meeting entitled, “Building on Our Strengths,” will feature the industry perspective from guest speaker, Steven Houston, along with ITW BGK, ITW Gema and ITW Ransburg presentations and breakout sessions and will conclude on Tuesday, March 10 with dinner and awards banquet.

Modean Industries of course will be there and we look forward to seeing and meeting our friends and colleagues. Visit our website again soon as we will be reporting back and sharing with you the latest developments and trends in the finishing industry!