A number of projects in the region have recognised the advantages of Hempel’s Strata coating, which the company says is the ultimate in eco-friendly protection system for concrete floors.

Hempel has scored a major success in Kuwait for its new-concept concrete floor coating solution Strata, which has been applied on a key hospital project in the country.

The leading global coatings and paints manufacturer has supplied around 8,000 litres of the Strata water-based epoxy coating for the Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Hospital project, the largest medical centre in Kuwait.

Having secured this prestigious development has paved the way for further projects in the region in 2016, says Mohamad Awny, Saudi Arabia business development and technical service manager.

Hempel describes Strata as the ultimate protection system that is eco-friendly. “Based on a century of experience in safeguarding assets from the extreme harsh forces of nature in marine and protective coatings, Hempel developed the Strata flooring range to meet the most demanding specifications, while also offering a dual concept as it both protects and decorates floors,” says Awny.

Strata Epoxy WB is a water-based, environment-friendly, self-priming two-component epoxy paint designed to be applied to damp concrete surfaces. “It has good chemical resistance and is mechanically resistant to light traffic. It is particularly suitable for wet working environments in industries, where it may be difficult or impossible to obtain a dry surface,” he says.

It has also been designed to be applied to walls which need coatings that are water-based, chemically resistant and easily cleaned, such as in  schools and hospitals, as in the case of Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Hospital project.

Hempel is fully geared to penetrate the regional market with this new range which is being produced at its Dammam factory. The production facility has enough capacity to produce Strata paints to cover the requirements of the entire Saudi market, according to Ahmed Abdelaziz, regional sales and marketing director – decorative paints – Middle East West.

Abdelaziz ... positive feedback.

He says approvals have also been won for Strata for forthcoming projects in the region.

The long-lasting paint provides ultimate protection while being decorative, thus meeting the most demanding specifications, reducing lifecycle costing through minimised cyclical maintenance and repainting and enhancing the sustainability of projects. The high-quality range of multi-layer flooring systems and coatings relies on low-VOC (volatile organic compound) water-based products.

Abdelaziz expects this new range of flooring systems and coatings will further strengthen Hempel’s position in its field in which the company has held sway for 100 years.

“We have received very positive feedback from our customers and are receiving inquiries as well as approvals for our specifications. In fact, we have already supplied a few major projects in the kingdom including factories,” Abdelaziz says.

The comprehensive line covers the needs of various flooring conditions and specifications, ranging from the most traditional floor protection coating consisting of epoxy sealer, solvent-free epoxy primers, epoxy coatings for light, medium and heavy traffic, anti-microbial solvent-free epoxy coating, epoxy self-levelling system, coloured epoxy screed, and epoxy putty to polyurethane coating (ultraviolet rays resistant), and road and sports ground marking systems. The choice of Strata products for hard surfaces exposed to harsh environmental conditions is of valuable interest to civil engineers, civil consultants, flooring applicators, retailers, among others, he adds.

He says the systems is ideal for demanding applications such as car parks, race-tracks, factories, hotels, villas and aircraft hangars. The range also includes odour-free coatings for areas where strict standards have been set for the indoor air quality, and anti-microbial products for food production and laboratories.

As with other Hempel products, the Strata range is manufactured to ISO 9001:2008 standards in production facilities that meet the ISO 14001:2004 environmental management system and Ohsas 18001:2007 occupational health and safety system standards.