New Qualicoat specifications from 2024

The new specifications of the international Qualicoat quality mark for the coating of aluminum have been in force since January 2024. They were drawn up and adopted at a meeting of the Qualicoat Working Groups with the involvement of the VOA.

The Association for Quality Control in the Lacquering, Painting and Coating Industry - Qualicoat for short - awards the globally valid quality mark of the same name as a general licensor based in Zurich. In many countries, associations are usually involved as general licensees - such as the Verband für die Oberflächenveredelung von Aluminium e. V. (VOA) in Germany - which send their distinguished experts to the working groups. The quality mark enables licensees and approvers to produce quality-assured, coated aluminum in compliance with defined rules for processes, products and tests and to serve global supply chains. The rules, known as specifications, include technical, visual and quality standards, also with regard to sustainability. Independent, accredited institutes carry out unannounced inspections at the coating companies twice a year to check whether they are being adhered to correctly. The new specifications, which are always based on the latest scientific and research findings, have been in force since January 1, 2024 and have been developed and refined by experts from around the world in professional working groups.

When updating the globally valid specifications, the general licensor Qualicoat attaches great importance to the beneficial combination of theory and practice in its investigations, analyses and data, taking into account the latest technical findings. International experts, appointed by the General Licensor's Technical and Executive Committee, deal with various topics in ten working groups and develop templates for the specifications. Also involved: the VOA and its professional member companies, who make their enormous practical knowledge available in the working groups, for example in the "Qualicoat 3.0", "Aluminium & Label Extensions", "Pretreatment" and "Preanodizing" working groups.

From January 16 to 17, 2024, the professionals met in Amsterdam to discuss the latest findings and developments: While the "Qualicoat 3.0" Working Group focused on reviewing the corrosion test results of the certified construction projects, for example, the "Aluminum & Label Extensions" Working Group dealt with the further development of Annex A5 of the specifications for the exterior application of coated die-cast parts. The "Pretreatment" Working Group drew up recommendations on pretreatment processes for die-cast aluminium and discussed whether the photometric layer weight determination of chromate-free conversion coatings can be standardized; and the "Preanodising" Working Group defined the framework conditions for a current study on behalf of the Technical Committee in order to differentiate corrosion protection requirements for pre-anodizing from the current limit values for seaside pretreatment.

Once the draft update sheets for amending the specifications have been submitted by the working groups, the Technical Committee discusses them in the next step, amends them if necessary and ultimately approves them from a technical perspective. The Executive Committee then releases the drafts so that they can be published as update sheets - in 2023, for example, there were 16 of them - and come into force. The general licensor publishes the updated specifications to the general licensees on a regular basis on 1 January and 1 July of each year and the general licensees then publish them to the companies. Communication and the preparation of the specifications are carried out in English, which is binding for the licensees and approvers. This closes the circle for the consistent further development of coated aluminum with the Qualicoat quality mark.

New year - new, unannounced inspections: Independent, accredited testing institutes inspect companies' compliance with the applicable specifications twice a year without prior notice. Sometimes the companies to be inspected do not like the interruption to their day-to-day processes, as they are also affected by a shortage of skilled workers or waves of illness. Nevertheless, the companies opt for the unpredictable audits for good reason, as they ensure that the quality to be achieved is produced in the company at all times and that the idea of quality is continuously practiced by the workforce.

The commissioned institutes in Germany then send the test reports created as part of the external inspection digitally to the general licensee, who coordinates the complex inspection process. The VOA office anonymizes all reports - around 100 per year for the coating companies alone - and forwards them to the association's inspection committee appointed by the Executive Board, which checks them with an expert eye in accordance with the criteria specified by Qualicoat and reports its feedback back to the office digitally. Finally, the VOA informs the general licensor Qualicoat of the results and, after an unbiased assessment based on the specified criteria, receives the final statement on whether the examinations have been passed or failed. Only after passing through all instances is it decided whether the respective company manufactures in compliance with Qualicoat and receives the license, may keep it or - in the event of a negative test and a negative repeat test - loses it with immediate effect. This process ensures that no company rests on its laurels, but produces optimum quality in series at all times.

The VOA regularly informs its licensees and approval holders about the new Qualicoat specifications, the testing system and common errors and how to avoid them. In addition, the association offers coating and Qualicoat seminars that are recognized as mandatory training in accordance with the specifications. As an exclusive service, the VOA invites license and approval holders to qualified, explanatory video conferences to explain topics, answer questions and discuss issues. This also feeds into the VOA's Qualicoat Audit Committee, which deals with technical issues relating to the awarding of quality marks, quality assurance and quality testing. The association's Technical Commission also deals with possible suggestions for improving the specifications, which the VOA, as general licensee, in turn brings to the Qualicoat committees. In this way, the "cogwheels" of VOA and Qualicoat mesh perfectly thanks to the quality that is practiced - the guarantee for satisfied customers worldwide. (OM-3/24)