New coating focus of promotional events across Italy

Jetskin^® is a new metallic coating for steel which has been developed by ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products. Applied in a vacuum, the process creates an extremely even coating which ensures long-term corrosion protection. Now Jetskin^® is being promoted across Italy by ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia – a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and the CLN Group.

Unlike other coatings, Jetskin^® is applied to the steel substrate in a vacuum using Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) technology. The light, thin coating provides a better surface aspect than galvanised or electrogalvanised material, making it ideal for products such as furniture, electronics, and any other product that benefits from an extremely homogeneous coating.

Focus of Steel Solution Days

During 2018, ArcelorMittal CLN will hold several Steel Solution Days to highlight the advantages of Jetskin^® to local customers. “In April 2018 we held our first event for the year together with Prima Power, an Italian manufacturer of metal processing machinery, and ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products,” says Gilles Mirol, head of steel solutions and business development for ArcelorMittal CLN. “More than 100 ArcelorMittal CLN and Prima Power customers attended to see how easy it is to work with Jetskin^®. More events are scheduled in Italy during the year.” During 2017, ArcelorMittal CLN held two successful Steel Solution Days to showcase Jetskin^®, including one with Prima Power aimed at furniture makers.

When it comes to support, ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products and ArcelorMittal CLN work closely together notes Sandrine Jourdan, client technical support manager and coordinator for ArcelorMittal CLN at ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products: “The Steel Solutions team from ArcelorMittal CLN always responds first to the customer. But the ArcelorMittal Client Technical Support (CTS) team is there if they cannot solve the issue quickly. There are also regular meetings between the Jetskin^® product team and ArcelorMittal CLN so they are fully aware of developments with the coating.”

Pictured at the Prima Power event: Sandrine Jourdan, client technical support manager and coordinator for ArcelorMittal CLN at ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products, and Pierluigi Belloli from ArcelorMittal CLN

An example of Jetskin^® on show at the Prima Power event in Italy

Robust coating stands up to wear

“In Italy, many customers specify a very thin galvanised coating to reduce costs,” notes Gilles Mirol. “However, this can lead to issues later when the steel is welded or post-painted. With Jetskin^®, the coating is very robust and should improve the total cost of ownership over the application’s lifetime.”

Another advantage of Jetskin^® is its performance during welding operations as Gilles Mirol explains: “Although Jetskin^® is a pure-zinc coating, the level of fumes emitted during spot welding is significantly lower than for galvanised material. That makes Jetskin^® the perfect coating for any application that needs to be spot welded, particularly thin material where you don’t want the weld to be visible. The Jetskin^® coating can also be post-painted to create a truly unique application.”

Welding is also up to 20 percent faster. “We’re working with a door manufacturer who has a bottleneck in their manufacturing process due to the time it takes to weld galvanised steels,” says Gilles Mirol. “By replacing galvanisation with Jetskin^®, the manufacturer hopes to reduce the time needed to complete a door and eliminate the bottleneck at the same time.”

About Jetskin^®

Jetskin^® is a pure-zinc coating which is applied to one or both sides of a moving strip of steel using ArcelorMittal’s unique Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) technology. Jetskin^® provides a homogeneous coating which offers excellent corrosion protection, particularly for indoor applications. The coating process has a significantly lower ecological footprint due to the efficiency of the JVD process.

Jetskin^® is available on steel substrates ranging from 0.4 to 2.5 mm thick. The coating can be applied to one or both sides of the steel, and in different thicknesses on each. Jetskin^® coated material can be utilised in any application where galvanised or electrogalvanised material is currently deployed. Jetskin^® behaves better than conventional electrogalvanised steel when it comes to resistance spot welding.

For more info visit: industry.arcelormittal.com/Jetskin