Finnester Coatings, a Finnish family-run business developing high-quality coatings in different fields of industries, has launched a new coating product for composite applications called Hybridred.

According to the company, Hybridred is a unique composite product as it combines fire and outdoor resistance with decorativeness. The coating is especially designed for infrastructure applications, such as the energy industry, bridges and facades, it said in a statement.

“This is a ground-breaking solution for composite applications where fire-resistance, high mechanical strength and weatherability are needed. In addition, the coating’s decorativeness makes it one of a kind in the market,” Finnester Coatings CEO Ari Hokkanen said.

The result of five years of research and development, the coating can be applied like a paint. When exposed to fire, it forms a ceramic shield that ceramification prolongs the ignition times and slows down the spread of flame.

“Due to the ceramifying technology, the coating doesn’t contain any flame retardants, so it’s nontoxic and eco-friendly, unlike most of the other fire-resistant coating products in the field,” Hokkanen said and continued: “It protects the composite from fire, UV, weather conditions and vandalism. As a decorative solution it offers a smooth and gloss finish with a variety of colours. Ceramifying polymer backbone is the key for Hybridred’s revolutionary features.”

Composites, in general, have many advantages; they are lightweight, strong, and require little maintenance. They are also easy to process into various shapes in different colours. However, their biggest weakness is that they have zero tolerance against fire and therefore burn easily.

“Although fire protection can be added into composites, it means that the other key properties are lost. Hybridred coating solves these problems,” Hokkanen said.

Hybridred has now been launched in the European market. However, Finnester Coatings is getting prepared for the sales worldwide.

“There is a clear demand for fire-resistant composite applications that are safe, aesthetic and outdoor resistant,” Hokkanen said.

Case: Fireproof FRP footbridge in United Kingdom

Meanwhile, the newly launched fire-resistant coating developed especially for composites has found its first bridge application on two fibre-reinforced plastic footbridges in north-west England, UK.

APB Group Ltd were contracted by Lancashire County Council to replace two existing steel footbridges at Ormskirk in North West England with new fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) footbridges.

The bridges were 1 km apart but were identical 28 m spans over the railway. FRP was chosen as material because of its lightweight, low maintenance and good weather resistance. Both footbridges span over the railway and therefore, the tender documentation set requirements for protection against surface spread of flame to BS476 Part 7: Class 1.

“Hybridred was the only solution found to meet this requirement in an external environment with the additional benefits of good performance for smoke and toxicity,” said Martin Halpin, Innovation and Development Manager from APB Group Ltd.