Sunanda Speciality Coatings Pvt. Ltd

Innovation- the key to Success

Construction industry is yet to completely wake up to the benefits of protecting concrete. Ms. Ishita Manjrekar, Director, Sunanda Speciality Coatings Pvt. Ltd., tells Built Expressions that awareness on the importance of using protective coatings in concrete need to be created right from academic level.

BE: Along with a brief introduction about your company, can you briefly describe the variants available under Protective Coating solutions for reinforced concrete?

Sunanda Specialty Coatings Pvt. Ltd. is the flagship company of the ‘Sunanda Group’. Thirty five years ago, in 1979, the need to start this company to manufacture ‘construction chemicals’ was felt by the promoters of SUNANDA. Contractors, direct consumers, builders and developers were very happy to use these products that assured them guaranteed success in their projects and endeavors. Ceaseless in-house R&D efforts, continuous and extensive quality control, constant interactions with technical experts both on-site and off-site and the continuous efforts, by the company’s research team to increase their knowledge by participating in international conferences, exhibitions and academic programs have become the four most important contributing factors to the status and success that SUNANDA enjoys today, both in India and abroad.

Apart from our own in-house quality management systems, ISO systems have been made an integral part of our organization at every level and even today SUNANDA is the only construction chemicals company in India to have an ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for ‘Research and Development’. Our corporate headquarters are located in central Mumbai along with main offices in south and west Mumbai. In addition, we have satellite offices in Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Panjim (Goa) and Chennai. Our business is organized into verticals to service the following key market segments through a large number of distributors and dealer network:

• Real Estate
• Infrastructure
• Process Industries
• IT/Finance/Services
• Healthcare & Education

Our ISO accredited production facilities including quality control centers and R&D facilities are located at three independent facilities in the heart of three major industrial belts in Maharashtra, India

BE: What are the primary components of protective coatings?

Protective coatings are primarily based on two types of chemistries:

1. Water based coatings
2. Solvent based coatings

As our customers and the industry in general is becoming more environmental friendly and sustainable, there seems to be a clear emergence and preference for water based protective coatings for the protection of RCC. Water based coatings being breathable also offer a longer service life and therefore performance.

BE: What are the functional requirements of coatings for reinforced concrete?

Over the life of the structure the concrete is constantly exposed to carbon dioxide which leads to carbonation of the concrete. This in turn reduces alkalinity of concrete matrix surrounding steel, because of a reaction of atmospheric carbon dioxide with calcium hydroxide (in the cement paste) in the presence of water. The result is a degeneration of the calcium hydroxide to calcium carbonate (limestone) which has insufficient alkalinity to support the passive protective layer of oxide layer on the steel. And corrosion sets in.

The corrosion of metals especially reinforcing steel has been receiving increasing attention because of its widespread occurrence and the high cost of repairing these structures. India loses INR 2 trillion (USD 40 billion) which is roughly about 4% of our national GDP every year due to corrosion of infrastructure, industrial equipment and other vital installations, according to last estimates from Corrosion Management Committee of CII. In addition to causing severe damage and threat to public safety, corrosion disrupts operations and requires extensive repair and replacement of failed assets. This is likely the single biggest opportunity to save costs due to corrosion and enhance the life cycle and sustainability of civil structures.

BE: Which is the right protective coating? How does the end user decide and what are the selection criteria?

IM: The correct protective coating for the protection of concrete must have the following properties:

1. Provide strong protection against carbonation of concrete
2. Water based
3. Breathable
4. Water Resistant
5. Provide reasonable protection against chlorides and sulfates

All of these properties can be tested by independent third party laboratories against the relevant ASTM standards. Clients must insist on seeing relevant test performance and compliance to global standards for the performance of protective coatings for RCC. For example, Sunanda’s entire range of protective, anti-carbonation coatings are in compliance with ASTM (American) and DIN (German) standards for performance of protective concrete coatings.

Clients must also insist on vendors with a strong prior track record in terms of performance and quality of the product, as well as past case studies.

BE: Can you throw some insight on protective coatings market? What are your company’s future plans to address the market need?

IM: In the last four decades, there have been several developments in the Indian cement industry - India has grown from 33 million tons to 330 million tons of cement/annum. It ranks 2nd in cement production. We have transitioned from 33 GRADE cement to 53 GRADE cement and from 1:2:4 era to mix design era (though mainly in metropolises) on a percentage basis. While speed of the work remains critical due to economic consequences, qualitative aspects are at times on sacrificial altars either by compulsion or out of ignorance. But the industry has gradually awakened to the significance and criticality of the role played by an inexpensive, ignored and yet avoidable “nut and bolt” in the huge gamut of the construction machine – Concrete protective coatings.

There are still large sections in the construction and engineering fraternity that are not fully aware of the importance and benefits of protecting their concrete. Sadly, chemistry of cement hydration and concrete as material are not included as part of syllabus in engineering colleges and universities. There have been a few knowledgeable and experienced people who have made an effort to spread awareness about the subject. Indian personnel/engineers exposed to construction chemicals in other countries like the Middle East have brought back their knowledge and information and applied it locally. This has helped in gaining acceptance to the concept of concrete protective coatings which was hitherto considered superfluous.

Sunanda has been synonymous with educating, training and spreading awareness in the industry regarding such innovations and necessary measures to protect our concrete structures. We have an entire line of water-based, breathable, waterproof, anti-carbonation coatings SUNEXT 8©for various exposure conditions and applications. Our SUNEXT 8 range complies with ASTM and DIN standards for performance of anti-carbonation coatings. Case studies and technical details can be found on our website www.sunandaglobal.com