Revolutionizing the coil coating world

Coil coaters have a responsibility to some of the world’s most respected brands. You’re relied upon to deliver quality coated coils to manufacturers across construction, automotive, metal packaging, and many other industries.

But as global demand for metal coils expands, the challenges are also increasing, with issues surrounding workforce shortages, sustainability, and material waste proving to be a burden. 

We have the answer. 

SpecMetrix systems offer a truly unique solution – providing advanced optical technology that allows you to cut down on waste and significantly save costs. In our exclusive guidebook – created for coil coaters like you - we’ll explore the fundamental concerns facing coil coaters today and highlight the ways that our world-first technology can solve these issues. You can also learn the ways that some customers have been able to save more than $2 million a year by adopting this solution. 

SpecMetrix technology: a game-changer for coil coaters. 

For metal coil coaters, paint and material waste has always been an unavoidable part of the process due to a lack of precise real time measurement data. 

But now, for the first time, there’s a solution.

SpecMetrix EXR (Extended Range Optical Interference) and ROI (Ruggedized Optical Interference) technologies allow you to generate continuous, real time, highly precise thickness measurement data on coil coating lines.

What does this mean? Well, by using this optical technology coil coaters can now measure the thickness of coatings in real time at high production speeds. This non-contact, non-destructive, and non-hazardous approach allows the user to gather high-speed measurement data at 100+ measurements a second. Ultimately, this gives the user access to real time information that would be unavailable through another provider – allowing you to make instant adjustments in a way that ensures quality is never compromised. 

Available for wet or dry coatings, with this solution coil coaters are able to avoid unnecessary paint waste that comes with overapplication and reduce the risk of claims from an underapplied coat. 

Choosing our systems can make all the difference. Take a look at the project outcomes you can expect when investing in SpecMetrix technologies as opposed to an alternative approach:

“The savings impact of this in a 24/7 coil coating environment process is significant – ROI can be expected within months of system installation. 

This technology can legitimately transform the efficiency of a coil coating production line. The data provided gives coil coaters a level of understanding and control that has not been possible before, allowing the user to reduce waste, save costs, become more sustainable, protect their brand, and reduce the risk of human error in their operations.” 

Vivek Komaragiri, Principal Technologist and CTO from Industrial Physics

Save significantly on cost by reducing material and paint waste with our world first technology. 

An overview of SpecMetrix optical technologies

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Overcoming industry challenges

The coil coating market is significantly expanding, with projections of approximately $2 billion in growth by 2029. This is fueled by a range of factors, one of which being the high demand in end-use markets, with more and more brands across a wider range of industries utilizing metal coils within their end-products. 

Whether it’s construction, metal packaging, automotive, or consumer appliances, the demand for metal coils is only growing – and while this growth is exciting for coil coaters, the need for quality has never been more important. As the industry continues to accelerate, there’s a real opportunity for coil coaters to advance the efficiency of their operations through the utilization of game-changing technology. 

Workforce challenges 

Obstacles surrounding skills gaps and workforce challenges are not exclusive to the metal coil industry – this is something we identified in our 2024 research in which we surveyed 380 packaging experts.  

Across the coil coating workforce, there’s a significant challenge in regard to the amount of highly-skilled professionals who are reaching retirement age and exiting the industry. As a result, many organizations are left with a shortage of experienced team members to support the operations and ensure that production can retain the levels of efficiency that is demanded – this is particularly concerning when we consider the rate at which the coil coating industry is expanding. 

This issue only heightens the need for automation and advanced technology within the space. While skilled experts will always be required to ensure the smooth running of operations, utilizing innovative systems can provide a solution in a situation where specialists are unavailable – ensuring production can maintain the levels of efficiency needed to meet customer demand.  

In addition to this, technologies such as SpecMetrix ROI/EXR systems allow plant personnel to perform more value-add tasks within the production environment, allowing their time and expertise to be utilized more effectively. 

Closing the loop 

SpecMetrix solutions offer coil coaters another truly visionary opportunity within the market – allowing coil production lines to take advantage of closed loop coating process control. While this may be a longer-term goal that depends on the specifics of each production environment, it’s one that could improve efficiencies even further. 

In-line closed loop process control provides coil coaters with continuous, accurate coating and paint thickness data from the production line, removing the need for manual intervention to take coil samples to a laboratory for testing. Therefore, team members can be freed up to tackle other responsibilities in the operation, increasing the value of the workforce. Furthermore, the tremendous volume of precise process data taken from the line can help with quality, production, financial analysis, machine utilization, and forecasting for preventative maintenance.

Supporting green initiatives

While improved efficiencies surrounding waste reduction clearly deliver financial and quality benefits, there are also significant sustainability advantages that coil coaters can benefit from.

Sustainability initiatives are prevalent across industries, and reduction in rework, paint waste, and oven usage can go a long way in helping coil coaters to reach their targets.

Saving cost with SpecMetrix systems

By using SpecMetrix systems, three different customers experienced the following: 

About our products

Whether coated coils are being tested with destructive manual equipment in a laboratory setting, or as part of the production line, fast, accurate, and precise real-time data is the key to optimization and advantages.  

Continued growth in competitive global markets requires automation, process control and innovation to help coil coaters advance their operational efficiency – but for this to become a reality, highly precise and actionable process data is needed to facilitate process engineering team efforts to deliver process digitalization. 

Off-line systems

SpecMetrix offers an offline lab system, which can be set up in the laboratory, QA station, or technical centers to rapidly measure coating thickness with a non-contact and non-destructive approach. Team members can simply move the coil sample under the probes and receive hundreds of accurate, real-time dry film thickness readings in seconds. This speeds up the QA process and removes contact with the sample so that it does not have to be destroyed. 

Key advantages of SpecMetrix technology

• Unique optical measurement technology unavailable anywhere else 

• Experience absolute/direct thickness measurement data delivered in real with – with no necessity for thickness standards/calibration for individual coatings 

• Significant cost savings achieved through material and paint waste reduction 

• Major efficiency improvements with the potential to minimize test shots, and use real time and historical data to achieve better set up and changeover times 

• Experience non-contact, non-destructive, and non-hazardous measurement technology 

• Achieve accurate high speed measurement data at 100+ measurements a second 

• Utilize for both in-process wet or dry coating measurements 

• Easily integrate to all automation systems and industrial PLC based controls 

• Experience individual layer measurements that can be taken in-process on multi-layered products

In-line systems

In-line closed loop process control provides coil coaters with continuous, accurate coating and paint thickness data from the production line, removing the need for manual intervention to take coil samples to a laboratory for testing.

Therefore, team members can be freed up to tackle other responsibilities in the operation, increasing the value of the workforce. Furthermore, the tremendous volume of precise process data taken from the line can help with quality, production, financial analysis, machine utilization, and forecasting for preventative maintenance. 

About Industrial Physics

Your test and measurement partner

At Industrial Physics, we provide packaging, product, and material test and measurement solutions to quality control, R&D, and operations experts across the world. 

It's our purpose to protect the integrity of our customer's brands and products. For us, this is about more than just supplying you with testing equipment, it's about being there for you as a full-solutions partner. Whatever your needs are, we'll work with you to find the right solution for your business.

We have a full team of experts to support you. It's our purpose to protect the integrity of our customer's brands and products. And when it comes to quality control and R&D within metal coils, we know our stuff. We offer a full suite of solutions to cover an extensive range of testing requirements for your requirements.

It's our innate desire to continuously learn, innovate, and better ourselves that allows us to provide businesses across a diverse range of industries with the highest quality of test and measurement solutions possible. 

Our experts are positioned across the world. And through our collective expertise, we're able to support the unique needs of our customers.

Our Services

At Industrial Physics, we believe that supplying you with high quality testing instruments is only part of our job. We’re committed to offering you a service that ensures your needs are fully supported throughout every step of your journey with us – from purchasing, to installation, and throughout ongoing maintenance.

We understand that being fast, efficient, and truly reliable is critical when it comes to servicing the instruments that keep your business running.

And that’s why we’ve established a global network of dedicated service specialists – to ensure you have an expert ready and waiting at a nearby location who can offer you support.

Wherever you are in the world, our experts are on hand to support your needs – whatever they may be. We know that having the right people ready to help is critical.

It’s critical to delivering a quality and speedy service that ensures your instruments can get up and running as quickly as possible.

From installation, through to calibration, repair, and preventative maintenance, we’ve got you covered. Our service options are truly diverse, and we also offer comprehensive training and dedicated support so that you can make the most of your machines. If you want to find out more about how we can help you, just get in touch.