Blastech

One of North America’s leading providers of custom industrial coatings continues to add to its physical footprint and capabilities. Blastech, a TF Warren company, earlier this year applied for Association of American Railroads (AAR) certification.

The AAR certification will give the company the credentials to perform a number of services including tank car repair and reconditioning; removing and replacing gaskets and other tank car service equipment; and removing, installing, qualifying, repairing and inspecting interior linings and coatings. Blastech plans to expand its facility in Brantford, Ontario, “to meet the soaring demand for interior coating and lining of steel tank cars,” the company says.

CEO, Terry Warren, founded the company in 1989 in response to environmental legislation and the increasing costs of field surface preparation and coating application. “Blastech’s environmentally controlled, 75,000-square-foot facility, situated on 10 acres, was one of the first of its kind in Canada,” he says.

Blastech specializes in applying high-performance coating systems. “We are experts in metalizing and liquid coating applications, including zinc, epoxy, polyurethane and polysiloxane,” the company says. “Our typical processing involves components such as structural steel, custom fabrications, tanks, vessels, ducts, panels, plate and pipe. However, we have the capability to process virtually anything.”

The company has provided corrosion protection for the mining, oil and gas industries for 25 years. Blastech is an approved applicator for General Electric, Siemens, TransCanada Pipelines, Enbridge and Ontario Power Generation.

Quality Processes
The quality of Blastech’s work is assured by its enforcement of strict quality assurance procedures as well as its conformance with Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) and National Association of Corrosion Engineers International (NACE) standards.

The company’s quality control procedures include pre-process, in-process and post-process inspections; instrument calibration; completion and tracking on non-conformance reports and corrective actions; and customer-specified functions.

Blastech says its typical surface preparation process includes sandblasting or the use of other materials such as steel grit or shot, aluminum oxide, garnet, glass beads or other non-metallic abrasives. Coating systems are applied after the blasted surface is inspected and approved. Blastech’s coating systems range from simple alkyd primers to standard zinc, epoxy and polyurethane systems and complex metallic fluoropolymer systems, it says.

Each of the company’s projects are documented by a NACE Level 3 inspector and then stored in Blastech’s database, where they are available upon request. ”Our project management team is continually improving our techniques and tailoring our process to achieve results that exceed customer expectations,” the company says. “We strive to build long-term relationships with each customer based on accurate scheduling, in-depth quality assurance and competitive pricing.”

Joining Forces
Blastech is often called upon to complement the efforts of its sister companies in the TF Warren Group. The company often teams with Tarsco, a storage tank construction, repair and maintenance provider, by blasting and applying pre-construction primer to steel plates Tarsco uses in its fabrication projects.

Blastech also partners with sister company Brant Corrosion Control, which provides rubber lining and coating services. Recent projects involving the companies include the construction of eight tanks at the Port of Hamilton, Ontario; and a tank located at a nickel-processing facility in Long Harbour, Newfoundland.

The company also works with outside companies. Blastech has a joint venture with steel fabricator SSAB located at that company’s steel mill in Axis, Ala.

The joint venture, known as Blastech Mobile LLC, has processed more than 1 million tons – or more than 200 million square feet of surface area – in steel since it opened in 2003. Blastech Mobile specializes in providing plate coatings to the marine and tank industries.

“Blastech Mobile was formed with the intent to provide value-added services for our customers,” the company says. “The partnership of TF Warren Group and SSAB has allowed us to provide the convenience of purchasing and processing at one location.”

Blastech receives steel plates directly through SSAB, then blasts and coats them on site, saving its customers on their freight and material-handling costs. “We also accept direct customer orders,” the venture adds. “To maximize savings in this situation as well, we can receive your material by road, rail and barge.”

Committed to Safety
Blastech also shares its parent and sister companies’ commitment to health, safety and the environment.

“Our management is vitally interested in the health and safety of its employees and encourages employees to adopt a safe and healthy lifestyle both on and off the job,” the company says

Supervisors at each of its locations establish policies and guidelines for employees to follow. “It is our policy to make every effort to provide a safe and healthy work environment,” it adds. “Every reasonable effort will be made to eliminate hazardous conditions and practices, minimizing the possibilities of injuries.”