The more connected the digital world gets, the more important cyber security becomes. Metalcolor has taken numerous precautions to ensure the security of your IT infrastructure and data. These measures have been certified with the Swiss cyber security label Cyber-safe.
“We have to make sure that our data is as secure as possible; this applies both to the data that enables our company to run smoothly and to our customers’ data,” says Manuel Fontan, IT & Network Administrator at Metalcolor. Our IT system and staff were tested by Cyber-safe to identify gaps and vulnerabilities. Based on this diagnosis, a list of measures was drawn up to improve our cyber security.
This looks like this: All Metalcolor’s files are consolidated in a local cloud. In addition, all externally accessible IT infrastructures are double-protected against hackers, malware and data leaks. In addition, the Security Operation Centre (SOC) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) jointly perform early risk management. If the systems detect an anomaly, they immediately alert the responsible persons, explains Manuel Fontan.
“A Safemail service filters incoming emails by assigning them a threat score, while the Report Phishing function allows our staff to have a suspicious email analysed by our security department,” says Manuel Fontan. Every fraudulent email is entered into a database and blocked for all employees. ” On the other hand, the authenticity of our outgoing e-mails is guaranteed by an S/MIME certificate. The encrypted content prevents the message from being read or changed without authorisation while it is being sent.” Continuous staff training on cyber risks complements these precautions.
Thanks to all these measures, we successfully passed the control audit. Metalcolor is now certified with the Cyber-safe label for two years.
Numa Garcia, Marketing Manager
In the light of recent events, all of us are becoming more aware of the scarcity of global resources, as well as of unexpected interruptions in the procurement of goods and along the usual transportation routes. Climate change has become tangible and environmental concerns are growing. Avoidance of waste, sustainability and recycling have become a key management issue in all kinds of businesses.
Metalcolor has therefore – whenever possible – replaced the wooden separators between coils with cardboard ones. In fact, cardboard has been shown to have identical or even superior properties.
As a second step, we have reached out to you to reassess the need to wrap pallets with stretch film. A large majority of you agreed to stop wrapping pallets with stretch film, thus facilitating the recycling and/or disposal of packaging materials and reducing disposal costs. As you know, Metalcolor offers a wide variety of different packaging solutions. Please don’t hesitate to talk to us about your packaging specifications and possible changes.
Ursus Boeni
Area Sales Manager
At Metalcolor, one of our strengths is our unlimited flexibility, which enables us to adapt swiftly to our customers’ needs in terms of coatings, batch sizes and lead times. The organisation of our two coating lines and the ongoing optimisation of our processes are key to this flexibility.
Our lines are in operation 24/7. “This non-stop activity requires an extremely precise organisation. We need to be able to rely on our versatile, autonomous operators who are trained in the various stages of the process”, says Helder Cerqueira. Helder joined Metalcolor 15 years ago and has held a number of positions within the company. Today, he is head of the coating and slitting departments. “Both of our lines are fitted with a quick change system, which enables us to carry out an average of 25 colour changes per day and to produce batches starting at as little as 100 kg. This well-established approach will enable us to coat over 17,000 m2 of aluminium in 2022!”
It is important to note that a large majority of coil coaters are also aluminium manufacturers who first produce their aluminium then coat it. Metalcolor is investing significant amounts in stock of uncoated aluminium coils, which is helping us to cut our lead times considerably.
The company has applied the principles of lean management for 20 years now. “The joint efforts of our operators and supervisors in constantly seeking exactly the right actions have helped us to identify unnecessary steps, make our facilities more ergonomic, and pinpoint even the slightest waste of time, resources and energy. This method allows us to achieve maximum efficiency”, states Helder. “For instance, in this way we have managed to halve the time needed to change series, which has also had a positive impact on our energy consumption”.
On the subject of energy: in 2018 Metalcolor replaced its solvent incinerator – a recovery system – with a regenerating system paired with heat exchangers. This system allows us to heat the furnaces using the very hot air generated, thus reducing our consumption of gas by 36% over 4 years. In addition, surplus heat from the incinerator is used to heat the entire Metalcolor site, thus reducing our CO₂ emissions.
What’s next? In order to address the emerging trend for highly durable matt finishes, which generally require two layers, Metalcolor is in the process of fitting one of its coating lines with a second application section. This significant investment will allow us to manufacture dual-coat products in a single process as of 2023. We will reveal more in a future newsletter.
Numa Garcia
Marketing Manager
In the field of powder coating, we are noticing a trend towards highly durable, ultra matt finishes. In response to this demand, we are launching our new range, Meco®Touch, which is a high durable coating available in two finishes:
The PE (polyester) coating provides a velvety, ultra-matt appearance and is fingerprint and dirt resistant. The PU/PA (polyurethane polyamide) surface provides a matt, lightly textured appearance and is scratch resistant.
Meco®Touch finishes match perfectly with matt textured powder coatings and provide better or equivalent UV resistance. Meco®Touch is available in an infinite range of colours and can be delivered within our usual lead times. The coatings are formulated and mixed directly on site, so we can offer you a fast and flexible service.
Would you like more information or any samples or test shipments? Contact your usual Metalcolor representative and visit our website at www.metalcolor.ch
Our aim is to always stay one step ahead! In collaboration with our paint and aluminium suppliers, we are continuously on the lookout for new applications that meet market needs.
“Our lab is very well equipped. This enables us to carry out most of the testing and quality controls ourselves. This gives us a significant advantage both in developing new products and in conducting final quality controls on our products,” explains David Goutte, our Laboratory Manager.
“On our small coating line, we can produce very small batches. We also use this line to carry out industrial testing of new coatings. Very few coil coating manufacturers have this kind of installation, which also offers our paint and aluminium suppliers an advantage when it comes to developing new products,” says David.
In the lab, we apply paints to aluminium samples to simulate the coating line process. This allows us to develop and test coatings before they go on the line. The same department also produces colour samples for our customers. “In 2021, we made over 900 colour samples. When you bear in mind that it takes 30 to 90 minutes to produce a colour shade and make a colour sample, or even several hours in the case of metallic multi-layered coatings, this represents a considerable amount of work,” says Goutte.
With the help of our suppliers, we have developed a variety of new coatings.
These include MecoProtect® – our easy to clean active coating, Meco®Elox – which imitates an anodised finish combining brushed aluminium with an extremely durable transparent coating and, more recently, Meco®Touch – our new, highly durable, matt or ultra matt coating and a vital addition to our range. We are currently developing a new smooth PE coating with an extremely high level of UV resistance and corrosion resistance.
Our lab is the backbone of our company. It enables us to satisfy our customers’ specific requests and to always stay one step ahead on new developments.