The cost of downtime on maintenance has long been an issue in many offshore European locations, with shortened seasons for coating depending on how low temperatures have fallen in winter.

Working with key customers, the technical team developed a cold curing expansion of the surface and humidity-tolerant epoxy technology, keeping the same broader field of application covering its use in immersion as well as atmospheric service conditions in offshore, marine, industrial and infrastructure applications.

Dura-Plate 301W offers cold curing down to 0 ºC and extended re-coatability of up to six months, two important extensions of this technology reach.

Ian Walker, Managing Director of Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said, “This award is testament to the whole team and the truly innovative nature of this product, how it was conceived and developed to meet a specific gap in the market.

“We’re particularly proud that we have won such a prestigious honor. We understand how tough it is to be recognized at this level and what it means.

“Our customers are now seeing the benefits of this coating, the difference it offers in terms of the extended season and the financial advantages.

“We have sought to provide a balance of uses for the Dura-Plate 301W technology to add to the options for the asset owner and maintenance contractor worldwide and in Europe particularly.”

Sherwin-Williams Protective and Marine Coatings Division EMEA, based at Bolton in Greater Manchester, UK, is a leader in the development of coatings for passive fire protection, oil and gas, and bridges and highways applications.

This year, 249 Queen’s Award for Enterprise have been named for outstanding business achievement in the fields of International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development. The awards are made annually by HM The Queen and are only given for the highest levels of excellence demonstrated in each category.