Powder tops trends in appliance coatings. (powder coating of coil and blanks in the appliance industry)(includes related article)

Powder coating of coil and blanks poses new possibilities for the makers of white goods

Use of powder coatings is growing among appliance manufacturers and could expand even more in the future with the advent of powder coated coil and blanks.

Use of prefinished coil is nothing new to the U.S. appliance industry. Virtually all the "wrappers" for refrigerators and freezers, and some parts of washers and driers, are finished on conventional liquid coil coating lines.

Pre Finish Metals Inc. (Elk Grove Village, IL) plans to begin commercial operation this month of the first coating line to apply powder to coil in the United States. Powder coated blanks, common in Japan and Europe, recently debuted in the U.S. market as well. Blank Coating Technologies Inc. (Franklin Park, IL) began producing them in mid 1994. As time goes on others are likely to follow, experts say, prompting manufacturers of appliances and other hard goods to reconsider the way they produce their products.

Appliance manufacturers continue to use …