Cooperating with companies that make continuous research of high quality standards a cornerstone is truly satisfying and stimulating for us at Verona Impianti. For this reason, we were happy to enter into a partnership with Veneta Cromature, a historic company specialized in the chrome plating and coating of high-end lighting and furniture items. The company has always made innovation one of its strong points: so, to meet the needs of an increasingly competitive market, it recently chose us at Verona Impianti to design a latest-generation painting system. This decision is part of a project to renew and optimize the company's production, aimed at improving the quality of the products and ensuring greater efficiency in operations.
The coating phase: a fundamental process for high-end furniture items
In the furniture and lighting industry, coating is not just a functional process but an art that helps shape and define each product’s character. Veneta Cromature has always worked with high-quality metals such as steel, brass, and copper, applying chrome plating and coating techniques that enhance both the aesthetics and durability of its products. The company has seen growing demand in the furniture sector, with a particular focus on metallic finishes, which have become a must in contemporary design. To keep up with the continuous evolution of the market and its resulting demands, Veneta Cromature has taken a significant step forward by investing in a new liquid painting system, designed and installed by our company.
In recent years, light design, which combines functionality and aesthetics in furnishings, has seen the evolution of chandeliers from simple light sources to real design elements. Metal, in particular, has taken on an increasingly important role, moving from a raw material to a decorative and versatile element, which integrates perfectly with other materials such as wood or crystal.
Painting, together with galvanizing, has become one of the key aspects for obtaining perfect and long-lasting finishes. Metal surfaces treated with advanced paints, such as 2K products, not only improve the aesthetic appearance, but also offer long-lasting protection against atmospheric agents, ensuring unparalleled quality.
New protagonist, new technology: the coating line of Verona Impianti
As mentioned, the global market has evolved rapidly, and with it the competitive dynamics. The production of lighting and furniture items has seen a strong shift towards countries with lower labor costs, such as China, where economies of scale have made it difficult for many European companies to compete on costs. Veneta Cromature has responded to this challenge with a process of diversification of its offer, expanding production towards new markets, including luxury ones.
In this scenario, the company recognized the need for a high-performance painting plant that could support the quality and efficiency required to meet the demands of the global market, especially in the luxury segment. So our know-how came into play and, together, we created an efficient liquid coatingline.
Design and installation of the coating plant
We at Verona Impianti, with our consolidated experience in the design and construction of painting systems, responded promptly to Veneta Cromature's request, proposing an advanced solution that guaranteed efficiency, quality and sustainability. The new system was designed to meet the company's specific needs, allowing continuous and optimised production.
The liquid painting system, custom-designed by the Verona Impianti team, was installed in record time, with the demolition of the old system and the assembly of the new one in just three weeks, a result made possible thanks to the great experience and operational capacity of our technicians.
Technical characteristics of the new coating plant
The new liquid painting system installed by Verona Impianti is capable of painting components of various sizes, with a processing capacity of up to 600 mm in width, 3 meters in length and 1.5 meters in height.
After the operators hang the components to be treated and carry out the necessary masking operations, the monorail overhead conveyor, which is equipped with a splash guard tray to avoid part contamination and moves at an adjustable speed, takes them to the pressurised booth for the manual application of 2K liquid paint. The booth is pressurized and guarantees a uniform application of the paint, avoiding common aesthetic defects such as iridescence or "orange peel".
Following the application of the clear coat, the parts reach a dedicated flash-off area before proceeding to the insulated drying oven, specifically designed to ensure uniform paint baking while minimising heat consumption. After drying in the oven at 130 °C for about half an hour, the treated items are taken to a storage buffer for cooling, thus completing the coating cycle and allowing the operators to carry out the unloading phase in a precise, safe, and controlled manner.
The entire plant, mainly devoted to orders from the furniture industry, is managed via an advanced PLC 4.0 system with a touch screen for complete and customised monitoring of every process stage. It allows adjusting the chain’s speed and checking the progressive clogging of the coating booth’s filters, thus ensuring optimal plant management for any specific production need.
A system that winks at energy efficiency and sustainability
According to our client’s needs, in addition to the quality of the production processes, another fundamental aspect of the new painting plant should have been energy efficiency. For this reason, the adoption of an autonomous generator that produces electricity to power the plant was crucial, as it allowed us to reduce energy costs. This cogeneration system produces electrical and thermal energy to heat the coating plant and the galvanic treatment tanks by recovering heat from the fumes generated in the combustion process of the heat engine, further contributing to energy savings.
Furthermore, the structure of the polymerization oven is completely insulated to avoid heat dispersion, with an air curtain barrier system that optimizes energy efficiency: it was also designed to guarantee a uniform temperature during the paint baking process, avoiding temperature fluctuations that could compromise the final result. The air curtains create a barrier that allows the air to be kept clean and heat not to be dispersed.
The goals reached by Veneta Cromature with us: quality, precision, efficiency
For Veneta Cromature, the quality of treatments is fundamental. Each component, which can vary from small metal parts to imposing structures for the luxury lighting sector, is treated with the utmost care, so that each final product meets the high standards required by the global market.
With the new liquid painting plant, the company has significantly improved its rework rate, which previously reached 30% of painted parts, reducing errors to almost zero, even for complex components such as gold ones destined for luxury markets, such as Saudi Arabia.
The benefits from the collaboration with Verona Impianti
The choice of Verona Impianti as a partner for the installation of the new coating plant has brought numerous advantages to Veneta Cromature. In addition to the quality and reliability of the system, the company has been able to benefit from highly qualified technical support, which has guaranteed rapid and smooth installation, despite the logistical difficulties related to the limited space available for the installation of the new system.
Verona Impianti’s experience in designing and installing cutting-edge painting systems was instrumental in the success of Veneta Cromature’s project. Thanks to this partnership, the company was able to respond to the challenges of the global market, improving production quality, energy efficiency and rework rate.
If you also want to optimize your painting process, Verona Impianti is the company that will provide you with innovative and reliable solutions, capable of meeting your production needs and the challenges of an evolving market.
The full article is now available on the January/February issue of ipcm_International Paint&Coating Magazine: https://www.ipcm.it/en/open/ip...