The award-winning FIRETEX® FX6002 intumescent coating system from Sherwin-Williams has been selected to deliver fire protection of a new landmark in Milan’s financial district. UnipolSai Tower, currently under construction in the Porta Nuova district of the Italian city, will become the new local headquarters for leading Italian insurance and banking
Sherwin-Williams, through its Protective & Marine division, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2021, one of the most prestigious awards for United Kingdom companies that celebrates business excellence and innovation. This is the second Queen’s Award for Enterprise that Sherwin-Williams has received in a span of
Sherwin-Williams coatings were chosen for the fire protection of steelwork at Tottenham Hotspur’s new showpiece stadium where up to 62,000 fans will be seated for the club’s home games. Having examined the priorities to protect the steel structure in the event of a fire with such large numbers of people
A breakthrough in fire protection from Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings is offering a combination of durability and ultra-fast curing not previously possible. In most environments 20 years durability can be achieved with FIRETEX FX6002 intumescent coating, even without the need to apply a top coat. The most significant benefit
The award-winning FIRETEX® FX6002 intumescent coating system from Sherwin-Williams has been selected to deliver fire protection of a new landmark in Milan’s financial district. UnipolSai Tower, currently under construction in the Porta Nuova district of the Italian city, will become the new local headquarters for leading Italian insurance and banking group Unipol, when it opens later in 2021. The 31,000m2 building offers a modern elliptical design over 26 stories, and is LEED Platinum certified to meet the highest environmental standards. Having examined the priorities to protect the steel structure in the event of a fire with up to 2,000 people working there at any one time, Sherwin-Williams experts selected FIRETEX® C69 Epoxy blast primer, followed by FIRETEX FX6002 methacrylate intumescent coating and a topcoat of Acrolon™ 7300 polyurethane for the project. Winner of a 2021 Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, FIRETEX FX6002 can be applied off-site, enabling paint applicators to transport steelwork in a matter of hours rather than days – which means less downtime, fewer bottlenecks and faster project completion, as specified by the steel fabricator for the construction, MAEG Costruzioni Metalliche. The super-fast drying times and off-site application also allow for greater expression of architectural design. FIRETEX FX6002 can be applied direct to metal without the need for a primer or topcoat in some environments whilst retaining the highest levels of durability. With up to 120 minutes fire protection and long-term corrosion protection to the steelwork, the application of FIRETEX FX6002 makes it possible for steel sections to be coated and shipped in one day as opposed to one week in the same circumstances. Alessio Ortolan, General Manager of Maeg Costruzioni said: “This high-rise office block demands the highest level of fire protection in order to safeguard the structure and the thousands of employees inside. “Sherwin-Williams offered the solution we needed to coat the necessary 5,000 tonnes of steel including H profiles and rectangular beams which connect the external diagrid to the reinforced concrete core. Using FX6002 allowed us to apply off-site, leading to a quick throughput and less damage to the coated beams when lifted into place.” FIRETEX FX6002 can be used on a diverse range of steel section types and for different fire protection scenarios. Valter Volta, Sherwin-Williams Regional Sales Manager for South East Europe, said: “Where the lives of people and safety of property are at stake, only the highest level of fire protection measures can ensure the building’s long-term viability.” “FIRETEX FX6002 offers fabricators across Europe high-quality passive fire protection coatings, which also help in reducing bottlenecks and project costs.” Projects using fire protection coatings delivered by Sherwin-Williams in EMEAI include London’s The Shard and the Leadenhall Building (known as The Cheesegrater), as well as Azerbaijan’s Flame Towers. For more information, visit the FX6002 website.
Sherwin-Williams, through its Protective & Marine division, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2021, one of the most prestigious awards for United Kingdom companies that celebrates business excellence and innovation. This is the second Queen’s Award for Enterprise that Sherwin-Williams has received in a span of only five years. Sherwin-Williams won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its FIRETEX® FX6002 coating that delivers exceptional passive fire protection for structural steel. Since its initial launch in 2018, this ultra-fast drying intumescent coating has transformed steelwork projects with its unprecedented speed of curing and dry handling times, gaining speedy adoption by architects, engineers and applicators. Unlike alternative protective coatings, FIRETEX FX6002 can be applied off-site, enabling paint applicators to transport steelwork in a matter of hours rather than days – which means less downtime, fewer bottlenecks and faster project completion. This year’s recognition is the second Queen’s Award for Enterprise that Sherwin-Williams has received, following the same award for Dura-PlateTM 301W in 2016. “To win two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: Innovation in just five years is a fantastic achievement for the Sherwin-Williams team. With FIRETEX FX6002 we have created a unique protective coating that is ideal for use in high-value infrastructure and construction projects,” said Ian Walker, Managing Director for Protective & Marine at Sherwin-Williams EMEAI. “Key stakeholders can take advantage of a wide range of benefits throughout the project lifecycle, including time and cost savings, enhanced durability, and aesthetically pleasing finishes,” added Walker. Sherwin-Williams is one of just 205 organisations nationally to be recognised with this prestigious honour. The Queen’s Awards celebrate excellence and are designed to help drive economic growth. In particular, the innovation category showcases companies whose use of industry expertise and technology innovation helps foster unique growth opportunities in their respective industries. “FIRETEX FX6002 further demonstrates our long-standing commitment to innovation, which dates back to 1866. Our highly skilled and experienced team continue to push the boundaries, embrace the latest technologies and anticipate future trends to develop products that benefit our global industrial and commercial customers,” commented Walker.
Sherwin-Williams coatings were chosen for the fire protection of steelwork at Tottenham Hotspur’s new showpiece stadium where up to 62,000 fans will be seated for the club’s home games. Having examined the priorities to protect the steel structure in the event of a fire with such large numbers of people moving about, Sherwin-Williams experts selected FIRETEX C69 Epoxy blast primer, followed by FIRETEX FX2003 solvent-based intumescent coating with a top coat of Acrolon C237 acrylic urethane sheen finish. The Sherwin-Williams Macropoxy C123 coating was used for the surface below the second synthetic pitch, achieving low curing down to 5°C. The coating is easy to apply by airless spray; compatible with a wide range of Macropoxy, zinc clad epoxy primers and build coats; and compliant with Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) standards. Steel fabricator for the project was Severfield. “This project demanded the highest specification standards for stadia using only the best products. We’re proud to have been involved to ensure only the highest levels of fire protection measures are in place where the lives of people and the safety of property are at stake,” said Mark Lockhart, Sherwin-Williams UK Sales Manager. Macropoxy C400V3 epoxy zinc phosphate coating was selected and applied after blast cleaning of the terrace steelwork, a system suitable for the protection of steelwork in a range of exposure environments from C1 to C5 as defined in ISO12944, including buildings, car parks, petrochemical plants, breweries and power stations. Projects using fire and corrosion protection coatings delivered by Sherwin-Williams across EMEAI include London’s The Shard, Azerbaijan’s Flame Towers and the Leadenhall Building, known as The Cheesegrater. For more information see the Sherwin-Williams website.
A breakthrough in fire protection from Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings is offering a combination of durability and ultra-fast curing not previously possible. In most environments 20 years durability can be achieved with FIRETEX FX6002 intumescent coating, even without the need to apply a top coat. The most significant benefit of this new product however is the speed of curing – hard dry and handling times may be as fast as one hour. Bob Glendenning, global fire engineering manager for Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, said: “With the substantial advances we have made in intumescent coating technology, we can offer a broader range of benefits and options than ever before whether you’re an architect, a developer or an applicator. In modern construction, speed of build is critical and this product contributes to that goal. “This is game-changing technology and allows for transport of steelwork within hours as compared to days currently for conventional water-based, solvent-based and epoxy-based products. “Projects carried out using the original FX6000 product found vastly reduced damage on shop-painted steelwork once erected. The new FX6002 retains this mechanical durability while at the same reducing the required film thickness, again reducing holistic project cost due to lower material requirements and greatly reduced site touch-up requirements.” For in-shop applicators of intumescent fire protection, FX6002 has Volatile Organic Content (VOC) levels comparable with many of today’s water based intumescent products, it also dries to leave a smooth and aesthetically pleasing finish, worlds apart from that typically achieved with some other exterior durable products. Additionally, when looking to optimise project costs, in many scenarios FX6002 may be specified with or without both primer and top coat depending on the project and applicator’s requirements. Rigorously fire tested under the requirements of British Standards BS476 parts 20 and 21, and the ASFP Yellow Book (Edition 5), FX6002 can offer up to 120 minutes fire protection to traditional rolled steel elements and cell beams. When coupled with the expertise of the Fire Engineering & Estimation Team in prescriptive and fire engineered solutions, and Sherwin-Williams’ independently accredited FDE software, FIRETEX FX6002 can be fully integrated into a project’s design model and BIM operations, offering customers a safe and cost-optimised fire protection solution. FIRETEX FX6000 technology was recently applied to Whitechapel Station in London, bringing benefits in time and cost, and proving its worth for on-site application. Trials of FX6002 have already proved successful, and environmental approvals are being sought from leading organisations including building and sustainability body BREEAM. Sherwin-Williams has supplied its diverse range of fire protection coatings to a number of landmark construction and engineering projects including London’s The Shard, the Leadenhall Building and Azerbaijan’s Flame Towers. The fire protection performance of the patented FIRETEX FX6000 and FX6002 technologies are independently certified under Exova Warringtonfire’s Certifire scheme and in durability testing under ETAG 18 Part 2 it meets the requirements for Type X, internal, semi-exposed and exposed locations.
