Jon Oliver Communications - Marketing Agency. Wolverhampton, West Midlands

Bakeware coating technology doesn’t stand still with continual investment not only in development of coating materials but also in the application equipment.  Ease of cleaning and longevity of efficient service are the two prime measures for the manufacturer and the user. 

The two principle methods of applying the coatings are by spray finishing, generally used by Far East manufacturers of imported product, and coil coating technology where the bakeware material is supplied pre-coated before being pressed into shape.  

Leading the drive for pre-coated metals in the UK and European Bakeware sector is Cooper Coated Coil (CCC) who, since the early 70’s when it was the first company to apply non-stick coatings by coil coating technology, has continually invested in the process.   

“Now more than at any time since its development, bakeware manufacturers and users are enjoying significant benefits from using coated metals as opposed to spray finished products,” explains Kevin Tranter, CCC’s Managing Director.  “Efficiency of the way the coated product performs is of course important but increasingly important now, to both the manufacturer and the consumer, is the energy efficiency of the manufacturing and logistics process to get the product to the end user.”

Cooper Coated Coil - £5million pound investment in process equipment

Investing over £5 million over the past two years in advanced coating equipment, CCC has doubled its capacity, reduced lead times and can apply a greater range of materials with increased accuracy.  The resultant increase in efficiency is already benefitting manufacturers.

“Manufacturers are increasingly wising up to the fact that consumers expect and want to know that product has a ‘low as possible’ carbon footprint and that is what coated coil gives them,” continues Kevin.  “Besides removing the obvious high energy cost of shipping materials around the world before landing in the UK, coated coil is a low energy coating process compared with spray finishing.

“Application efficiency of our coil coating process is 95% – just 5% wastage – while spray finishing is typically only 60% efficient – that’s a lot of energy wasted as spray emissions.”

The argument for coated coil technology becomes straight-forward when products are subjected to the industry standard test for coating efficiency.  Under CCC laboratory conditions, take one ‘standard’ sized chicken and roast for a set period of time, soak the tray – 5 minutes, light hand wash, dish wash and repeat 15 times while observing the coating condition. 

CCC test records illustrate clearly that in bakeware ‘all that glitters is not gold’.  Far East imports which often cost more and are made from thicker material – giving the perception of a higher quality product – are spray coated and fail through coating imperfections often before the 15 tests are complete.

To Kevin Tranter there is no argument, “Coil coating technology has come a long way, it provides the end user with an efficient product, it is a low energy process generating minimal waste relative to spray finishing and provides a highly competitive low carbon footprint solution for the manufacturer.  We will continue to invest in this technology as it becomes more widely adopted by the industry.”