In eight years, Hempel has painted 20,000 mining containers for Intermodal Solutions Group (ISG).

The 20,000th coating was completed in January 2020.

ISG is a global supplier of container rotation systems and container solutions for the mining, grain and ship loading industries.

During its eight-year partnership with Hempel, more than 1.5 million liters of paint have been used to protect the containers against the highly abrasive and corrosive materials they carry as well as the external environment.

ISG’s patented maritime and mining containers are unique, with a patented tippler operating system that rotates and tips the container to empty out the material being carried. This means they generally only need to be loaded and unloaded once to transport copper/nickel concentrate, iron ore, minerals, and other commodities from source to ship. Previously, the material was loaded and unloaded several times during transit to the final destination.

“We have been working successfully with Hempel for many years and appreciate the high level of service, top quality coatings and experience the company offers," said Garry Pinder, managing director of ISG-Pit to Ship Solutions. "Our containers are designed to operate in challenging conditions and require a coating system that is robust enough to withstand these harsh environments. We were delighted with how efficiently our containers were coated and the high-quality protection that was the result.”

“At Hempel, we understand that prolonging the life of an asset and reducing maintenance costs are key requirements for many of our customers," added Kim Scheibel, group segment director, Container at Hempel A/S. "Designing a coating system for such heavy usage containers was not a standard job.

"Our coatings have performed beyond all expectations.”

Various unique challenges were overcome during the coating process. ISG operates globally and so Hempel’s coatings had to perform in all geographical and environmental conditions. The units themselves are constructed of relatively thin steel and this caused an issue when preparing the surface prior to painting.

“When starting this project, we realized that interior surfaces were not drying and curing quickly enough so we needed to use electric ventilators," Scheibel said. "But we quickly found an alternative solution which has now become standard practice. We simply turn the containers on their side or upside down when we apply the coating. This allows the high solids to cure quickly and without the need for ventilators – saving time and significant costs.”

Interior paint solutions used include Hempadur Multi-Strength 45751 and Hempadur Conterior 47751, both self-priming, high-solid, epoxy coatings which cure to high abrasion and corrosion-resistant coating.

Externally, the traditional well-functioning three-coat system consisting of Hempatex Hi-Build 46410, a high-build acrylic topcoat was used to provide resistance to salt water, splashes of aliphatic hydrocarbons, animal and vegetable oils. Also used externally was Hempadur Primer 1530C, an epoxy mid-coat containing zinc phosphate as corrosion inhibiting pigment, and Hempadur Zinc 1536C, a zinc-rich epoxy primer that cures to a hard-wearing and highly weather-resistant coating.