MANCHESTER, UK - HMG Paints Ltd. has opened a new innovation, development and application training center at its main site in Manchester, UK.

As the UK’s largest independent industrial coatings manufacturer, HMG Paints Ltd. has always been committed to education and development. This new facility will provide another resource to offer customers, distributors and members of staff with the highest possible standard of technical application training.

The training center houses a spray facility designed and installed by PNS Garage Installations, based in Manchester. The facility contains a spray booth large enough for six sprayers, with extraction capabilities and an oven with a bake temperature of up to 70 °C. The facility also contains a fully equipped paint kitchen and a dedicated preparation booth, complete with extraction capabilities and sanding equipment for abrading substrates. Thanks to sponsors DeVilbiss and Mirka, the spray booth is fully stocked with industry-standard paint application equipment and sundries.

The new innovation, development and application training center represents the third phase of a development project to complete the Riverside Training Facility. This development project originated in November 2011 after HMG Paints Ltd. was selected to receive a grant from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

Since then, the initial phase of development was completed in December 2012, with the revitalization of the Riverside Building. This provided HMG Paints Ltd. with a marketing hub, two training rooms and a special projects laboratory. The second phase involved the opening of the Newton Centre, a manufacturing facility that specializes in the production of advanced coatings, focusing specifically on new waterborne technologies.

With all three phases now completed, HMG Paints Ltd. has the facilities to offer a number of training courses to all customers. These range from an introductory, classroom-based session, familiarizing participants with the HMG Paints product range, to an advanced application session, focusing on specific products and providing participants with a hands-on application lesson, fully utilizing the spray facilities.