22nd May 2024

In STOPAQ’s latest podcast series, the Business Line Director for Seal for Life Industries, Dinko Cudic, tackles the most asked questions about their visco-elastic technology and the role it plays in corrosion prevention.

The episode goes specifically into the topic of being purpose designed: what does it mean to design for the versatile conditions we apply in? Below are a few key questions and some excerpts from the podcast.

 

What does a purpose designed solution mean?

You often hear us use the term ‘purpose designed’. By this we mean we designed the product with the mindset of a contractor, the reason being that contractors have a selection of coatings they can use to prevent corrosion. But often they are faced with climatic conditions. And then it becomes very difficult to use certain technologies or certain coatings. 

So what we really wanted to do is create a coating that would be as easy and clean as possible to apply, because we believe that people will do a far better job than if it were complicated, and when you really just want to get it over and done with.

 

How does STOPAQ prevent premature failures?

Premature failures are mainly related to the application constraints during construction, whether it’s new build or rehabilitation. 

In new builds, you will often see that pipelines will be laid for 12 months of the year. So you’re going to go through all four seasons. Expansion, contraction of the pipes differ. What if there is cold gas going through and your pipe is condensing? What if the pipe is too hot? What if there is liquid inside that can elevate the surface temperature? These are all things which can be affected.

So when you have a product that can go on very cold temperatures when necessary, on very hot temperatures or wet substrates, then we really want to provide something that’s there for all.

 

Do you have speciality coatings?

We do have specialty coatings for certain conditions; for example, where they are in submerged conditions or even in splash zone conditions. This means we cannot dry the surface for our usual products. For that, we have a product called WSH, which in reality means Wet Substrate applied product. 

Those are the products that can be applied on a wet substrate. It is a system, so it is applied quite differently than the usual STOPAQ systems. It’s a wrap-around system. But that’s where we also come in to work with the clients and the applicators to show them the best way to apply this and overcome such conditions. 

 

What is meant by the STOPAQ system?

You will often hear us talk about systems, and that is because we always have the base, which is the manufactured product under the name STOPAQ. And that’s your primary layer that prevents corrosion. With all the benefits. 

What we put on top is a layer that withstands the environmental conditions we find ourselves in. And then we can also add additional mechanical protection. For example, let’s say in high impact zones where instead of two layers, we will add another layer on top to withstand even more impact resistance or abrasion resistance.

 

Is it truly 1 product, 1001 solutions?

We do say ‘1001 solutions’, and that’s because we are always open to new challenges and new applications. When it comes to creativity and what you can do with the product – the sky’s the limit! Expanding the applications will come in time. We like to keep focused on being the best in what we do: corrosion prevention.

 

If you would like to hear more, you can listen to the full podcast discussing STOPAQ’s visco-elastic and corrosion prevention solutions.