A coating that wins the battle with the elements

The paint coating of electric motors in the food industry is often exposed to extreme conditions. Cleaning agents, water, cold, humidity, heat and temperature differences can cause the paint coat to peel or damage, resulting in corrosion. Kolmer Elektromotoren has proven with 4.5 years of research that the food-safe coating the company uses can withstand these challenges - no matter how extreme the conditions. Jan Bakker, technical manager at the Harderwijk-based company, explains.

Kolmer Electric Motors has been a supplier of electric motors for forty years, with European brands such as Cantoni Motors and Cemp in its product range. In total, the company has 20,000 electric motors in stock. "We have our own engineering department, workshop and paint booth and supply both standard and custom electric motors to various sectors. Think shipping, pump industry but also the food industry," begins Bakker. The demand for special motors with a specific adaptation for the customer is increasing, also in the food sector. "Many companies in this sector are looking for motors with a long service life, which are food-safe, seamlessly fit the application and are economically justified."

No more corrosion

A good protective coating is one of the aspects that is very important. "When I started at Kolmer Elektromotoren about nine years ago, an acquaintance, working in the fishing industry, asked me for an electric motor with a paint that could withstand salt water and cleaning agents for a long time. After all, he had to replace his electric motor every six months because of flaking off. So I started looking for a safe product that would make the electric motor resistant to external conditions and prevent rusting and flaking. After a long search, I found a manufacturer who developed a topcoat for us, specially tailored to the paint on our motors, but also certified for use on food applications. Once an engine has this coating, food is allowed to come in contact with the engine and fall back into the process."

Water-thin coating

"The special thing about this water-thin coating is that it anchors itself right through the paint coat to the metal of the engine. As a result, the engine does not flake or rust, even when damaged. This is because moisture cannot creep under the layer of paint." Kolmer has the exclusive right to use this coating, which goes by the name Kolmer Top Coating (KTC). "It has been tested by TNO, so we can be sure that applying it is safe for our employees."

Battle with the elements

To further investigate the quality, Kolmer Elektromotoren also conducted a special field test. "We immersed two motors in the salt water of the Rotterdam harbor, exposed to ebb and flow. One motor was untreated, the other provided with the special coating. The result? After 120 days, not a speck of rust nor algae could be found on the engine with the KTC while the other variant was full of algae, weed, rust and scale. Our coating had won the battle with the elements."

Food Industry

The fish industry company that called on Kolmer Elektromotoren has now been using the coated electric motor for 7 years and is still very satisfied. "The KTC is particularly suitable for the food industry, but we continue to innovate. For example, we are about to launch an even better variant: the KTC Next. This is qualitatively equivalent to a stainless steel motor and comes with a C5 certificate (corrosion class 5). For application, we remove the standard blue paint from the engines. We then apply an undercoat, with the top coat on top. These two layers fuse into one protective skin, providing even better adhesion and protection. I cordially invite companies in the food industry that would like to test this improved variant in practice to contact me."