Lännen Pinnoitetyö resolving mission impossible

The loading ramp touches down on the harbor quay and heavy-duty vehicles begin to stream from the depths of the ship. The most active residents in the local area are preparing to file a new complaint about the noise caused by the vehicles driving down the ramp. The ramp is in need of a new coating that can withstand heavy wear, reduce noise, and dry quickly, but the ship will not be in the harbor long enough and there are no replacement ramps available. A seemingly impossible equation, but Lännen Pinnoitetyö and Teknos had a solution.

Lännen Pinnoitetyö Oy, a company founded in 2012, is a specialist in polyurea coatings and is a trailblazer in Finland. In summer 2015, the men from Lännen Pinnoitetyö were pleased to hear rumors that Teknos was launching its own elastomeric coating based purely on polyurea technology – TEKNOPUR 300.

"Until now, we had bought a product from an American manufacturer, but they had delivery problems disappointingly often. We were required to pay for the orders in advance, yet it was not always certain whether the coatings would ever arrive," says Ville Pihlava, who is responsible for Lännen Pinnoitetyö's sales and administration.

"Now that we buy the product from Teknos, we do not need to order a truck-load at a time, and we also do not need to take care of storing the product. It is much easier for us to operate and run our business when we do not need to tie up the company's capital in a large quantity of goods," says Ville Pihlava.

Faster than fast

There is not always time to wait for a paint or coating to dry. The Viking Line loading ramp referred to at the beginning of this article needed to be back in service eight hours after the coating had been sprayed on.

"The day before we sprayed the coating, we sand-blasted the ramp. When the ship departed from the harbor the following morning, we first applied a primer coat of TEKNOPUR SEALER 100 polyurethane varnish before spraying 10 mm of TEKNOPUR 300 elastomeric coating onto the surface," Ville Pihlava says.

The loading ramp coated with polyurea can withstand heavy wear.

TEKNOPUR 300 can be walked on 40 seconds after spraying, and the paint film hardens completely after approximately one day.

"With the exception of some small marks visible at the end of the ramp, there are no blemishes on the coating, even though there were vehicles driving over it the very same day. In addition, I have not heard of any further complaints being filed about the noise caused by vehicles," Ville Pihlava says.

The quick and durable coating is very well suited to a range of production plant applications.

"It is a great benefit that the coating dries quickly because shutting down a production plant while service work takes place can be expensive. For example, we coated a tank at a paper mill over one weekend. If the tank had been coated with epoxy, it would not have dried in time," Pihlava says.

Unbeatable water insulation

Lännen Pinnoitetyö has built up extensive experience with Teknos' polyurea coatings.

"TEKNOPUR 300 is essential for water insulation jobs because it can be used to create a seamless surface and the coated area can be taken into use quickly. This is a major benefit for coating sites such as yard decks and felt-covered roofs."

Collaboration with Teknos increases credibility

Lännen Pinnoitetyö has also praised Teknos' technical support. "American polyurea suppliers could have a hundred sales representatives but no technical support. It seems as if they have never even heard of the concept," Ville Pihlava laughs.

The floor of the new ventilation machine room at the Teknos Rajamäki plant was coated with TEKNOPUR 300 elastomeric coating. Jesse Vuorio from Lännen Pinnoitetyö shows off his masterpiece.

"We also improved our credibility in the eyes of our own customers when Teknos began manufacturing polyurea coatings," Pihlava says. 

Even a good product can have its reputation destroyed by poor workmanship. "If work is performed badly, it also detracts from the credibility of the product. The work should be done right the first time," Pihlava says.

Lännen Pinnoitetyö's big three, Ville Pihlava, Timo Pihlava and Jesse Vuorio, with Teknos' technical experts, Jan Åkerlund and Tuomas Aspiala, on the construction site of the new training center at the Rajamäki plant.

The recipe for a successful coating project sounds fairly simple: a good, functional product in the hands of expert coating professionals.