(KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 15, 2007) – A 500,000 gallon water tank in the Village of Rosemont, Ill., which mimics a bouquet of long-stemmed roses, has been chosen 2006 Tank of the Year by the Tnemec Company, Inc., a leading manufacturer of protective coatings for water tanks for more than 30 years, according to Chase Bean, vice president of Sales.
“We
are pleased to announce this award, which is our way of recognizing and
celebrating beautiful, creative, innovative and remarkable uses of Tnemec
coatings on water tanks,” Bean acknowledged. “As our inaugural winner, the
Rosemont tank was selected from approximately 50 nominations submitted by
Tnemec representatives from across the United States. The unique design
and magnificent exterior artwork saluting the heritage of Rosemont set this
tank apart from the field.”
The Rosemont water tank, which was recoated in 2006 by Steve and Kenneth Brend of Jetco, Ltd., was nominated by Tnemec coating consultant Erik Otten. “I’ve been involved with numerous water tank projects for the past 15 years, but the complexity of this design made it especially deserving of this special recognition,” Otten reported. “The weather, containment requirements and jobsite location made working on this project very challenging for Kenneth Brend, who deserves enormous credit for creating this remarkable artwork.”
Since its construction in 1982, the colorful tank has been repainted twice, in 1990 and 1998, each time using oil-based enamel paint. The current coating specification called for Series 91-H2O Hydro-Zinc a two-component, moisture-cured, aromatic urethane zinc-rich primer; Series 73 Endura-Shield, an aliphatic acrylic polyurethane intermediate coat; and Series 700 HydroFlon a two-component, fluoropolymer polyurethane exterior finish coat, all manufactured by Tnemec.
“HydroFlon was chosen as the finish coat for its versatile application properties, superior long-term gloss and color retention and life expectancy,” according to Otten. “Other benefits include its 60 percent volume solids content, excellent coverage rates and exceptional ultra violet (UV) protection, giving it the ability to withstand the degrading effects of sunlight.”
The original artwork was removed by sandblasting in accordance with SSPC-SP6/NACE No. 3 Commercial Blast Cleaning. After the HydroZinc primer was spray-applied and the Endura-Shield intermediate coat was roller-applied, the unique rose design was sketched by Kenneth Brend directly onto the intermediate coat. Using photos to document the original design, Kenneth Brend drew the same rose pattern with pencils by hand. “That’s where the artistry came in,” he shared.
“Seventy-five percent of the finish coat was applied with 4 inch rollers and dozens of 2-1/2 inch sash brushes,” Brend recalled. “The rose pattern required six different colors, so we had to apply them in two different layers. We went around the whole tank once applying half the colors, then came back again and finished the design.”
A flexible containment system was required for most of the project to prevent renegade dust from escaping the jobsite, which was adjacent to a heavily traveled McDonald’s drive-through. “We had to build a canopy from the base of the tank across the drive-through lane of the restaurant,” Brend recalled. “Thirty-five tons of concrete had to be poured at the bases of the 1,600 square foot canopy to prevent movement during high winds.” From the start of the project in June 2006 to its completion in November 2006, the drive-through stayed open without a single report of property damage from overspray.
“In the end, everybody was
extremely happy,” Brend noted. “People were calling into the public works
department to say how beautiful it was.
“And the long-lasting coating system will keep it looking that way for many years to come,” Otten added.
ABOUT TNEMEC
Established
in 1921, Tnemec is one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S.,
specializing in industrial coatings for steel, concrete and other substrates
for new construction and maintenance. More than 120 architectural and
industrial coating products are manufactured at facilities in Kansas
City and Baltimore.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Tnemec operates
distribution facilities in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Seattle and Compton, Calif.
In addition to the company’s national network of technical representatives,
Tnemec has technical representatives in Canada, the Dominican Republic,
England, Puerto Rico and Trinidad. For more information on Tnemec Company, Inc. or any of its products,
call 800-863-6321; write to 6800
Corporate Drive, Kansas City, Mo. 64120-1372;
or visit www.tnemec.com.