Apr 21 2004
Rust-Oleum Industrial Brands has introduced its newest line – Sierra Performance Coatings by Rust-Oleum, the only high performance industrial and commercial coatings with zero volatile organic compounds (VOC). Sierra’s coatings are also free of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and solvents, are non-flammable, and have no odour when applied. These worker-friendly and environmentally safe characteristics allow for the coatings to be applied in areas with low ventilation or open flame without the risk of exposing employees or residents to hazardous fumes, solvent odours or flash fires.
Sierra coatings’ VOC-free, HAPs-free and low odour characteristics allow for painting in self-contained occupied buildings, such as hospitals, schools, airports, food plants, office buildings, kennels and shopping malls, without interrupting day-to-day operations.
“Sierra’s products were developed with patented technology and a truly unique method of paint formulation,” said Brian Paich, product line manager for Sierra Performance Coatings by Rust-Oleum. “Sierra coatings far exceed the most stringent federal and state environmental VOC regulations and may well exceed regulations for years to come. States like California have taken major steps to lower air pollution and additional states are expected to follow suit in the near future. Our customers in those areas finally have a coatings system they can depend on instead of switching every couple of years to meet changing requirements.”
Sierra Performance Coatings’ revolutionary technology can be used on exterior and interior steel and concrete, walls, trim and concrete floors. They are easy to apply and clean up with soap and water. The coatings are block and mar resistant and have very fast drying times, resulting in a highly effective and efficient coatings system. All Sierra products are water-based, contain no co-solvents, and perform as well as or better than other low-VOC solvent-based products while exceeding environmental regulations.
The Sierra Performance Coatings lineup is made up of a full range of products including 100% epoxy floor coatings, water-based epoxy enamels and primers, epoxy-acrylic enamels, acrylic primer, direct to metal (DTM) enamels, acrylic urethane enamels, and water-based aliphatic polyurethanes. Sierra brands include METALMAX ™, a self-priming acrylic urethane enamel designed for application on metal structures and other maintenance surfaces; GRIPTEC™, a multi-surface sandable primer for use on wallboard, plaster, wood, tilt-up, masonry walls, metal and many glossy surfaces; and BEYOND™ Enamels, an acrylic urethane enamel for use on doors, trim, walls, equipment, shipping containers, furniture and other maintenance surfaces and OEM products, just to name a few.
Patrick Terrizzi, a chemist who spent a part of his career in the Silicon Valley electronics industry, developed the technology behind Sierra Performance Coatings. In 1989, he began looking for ways to formulate paints and coatings not harmful to the environment.
“I wanted to change the way people thought about making environmentally-friendly coatings. The current trend is to lower the amount of solvent used and, in many cases, this sacrifices the benefits and performance of the coating. We decided, instead, to start without using any solvent, creating our own resins and building it from there. We really reformulated the way paints and coatings are made,” said Terrizzi. “We found that this approach allowed us to build in more practical advantages, such as: ease of use, quick re-coat, quick turn-around time, and fast property development. These are important considerations beyond the worker safety and environmental benefits.”
Sierra’s proprietary resins and lack of solvent are not the only characteristics that make Sierra products unique. Great care and attention in working with customers has helped in creating products that people want and need. During the technology’s early development stages, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), California Air Resource Board (CARB), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), and the United Soybean Board (USB) provided valuable research funding for the products’ development.
Source: Rust-Oleum