Powder Coated Tough - Fall/Winter 2007 - (Page 12) DECORATIVE DESIGN DIMENSION BY SHARON SPIELMAN D ecoral Systems opened its first anodizing plant in the early 1970s. By the end of that decade, both demand and selling prices were decreasing due to tough competi- tion, so in the early 1980s the company added liquid and powder coating plants, which allowed them to offer new finishes to its customers. According to Dan Baker, a sales representative who works in the Anaheim, Calif., U.S. office of Verona, Italy-based Decoral, “Due to a lack of competition, we were able to increase both selling prices and profit margins.” Then, during the late 1980s, demand for powder increased over liquid coating but selling prices were decreasing dramatically due to very tough competition, so according to Baker, in the early 1990s the company once again looked for a process that would offer something new to its customers, distancing them from their competition. “The idea was to offer wood and stone effects as an alternative to conventional finishes,” Baker says. After looking at the available technologies, it was determined that dye sublimation was the answer, but that was limited to the processing of flat sheets for interior use items only. “The idea was good, but it needed to be developed for use with profiles and 3D objects,” Baker says. The company also wanted to offer a finish that had full exterior durability. Decoral began to develop and patent Although the window in the picture looks like it is made from wood, it really is an aluminum structure that has been finished using a proprietary three-dimensional dye sublimation process at Decoral-licensee Trojan Powder Coatings, Bay Shore, N.Y. (www.trojanpowder.com). 12 Powder Coated Tough http://www.trojanpowder.com
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