Jotun, a leading manufacturer of decorative paints, marine, protective and powder coatings, said it has launched Jotachar JF750, the industry’s first and only mesh-free passive fire protection (PFP) coating.

The epoxy coating system for structural steel has generated significant industry interest, securing numerous global contracts and praise from applicators, fabrication yards and operators, said a statement from the company.

Launched in 2013, Jotachar JF750 promised to help users reduce cost and save time while protecting steel structures against a broad range of hydrocarbon fire scenarios, including jet fires.

Two years later, a growing amount of data and on-site customer experience has supported Jotun’s product claims. The sales revenues for Jotachar in the first quarter have already surpassed the total achieved in the whole of 2014.

John Warner, the category manager for Intumescent Coatings, said the absence of any mesh reinforcement in the Jotachar system means that the required thickness for any fire scenario can be applied in a single day.

By comparison, just 6mm is typical for traditional mesh containing products, he noted.

"Independent tests show that, for a typical 6,000 sq m project, Jotachar can cut material costs by more than 20 per cent and application time by 60 per cent,” he said.

“In addition, Jotachar removes the risk of installation errors inherent in mesh containing systems, while minimising installation time and cost. This has the effect of significantly reducing project complexity and improving profitability for the installer,” he added.

Customer feedback supports these findings, including endorsements from major PFP users such as Marine and Shore Group, a Thai based specialist PFP installer.

Managing director Malcolm Summers said Jotachar had enabled the company to meet a very tight schedule on a major offshore PFP yard project. "The applicators coated a total area of 1,572 m2 in a week with one pump and a crew of 20 people. This was a first for us," he stated.

Summers adds that the team could keep on the move and work faster than usual, and that in addition to the obvious benefit of being mesh-free, Jotachar had additional application qualities that improved quality and saved on man-hours.

“Film build was excellent,” noted Summers. “The team could apply to greater thickness than usual, with no concern at all of sagging, which meant no need for highly time consuming reworks,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service