The intumescent coating developed by Sherwin-Williams will offer fire protection to Amsterdam’s tallest buildings.
The intumescent coating FIRETEX® FX6002 developed by Sherwin-Williams, winner of the 2021 Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, has been selected as part of a system that will maximise fire protection for a major residential and hotel development project in northern Amsterdam.
The Y-Towers are two 100m-high towers under construction in the Overhoeks district. After completion, expected by 2023, they will become the tallest buildings in the Dutch capital. The tallest one will host the Maritim Hotel Amsterdam, that includes 579 rooms, a Skybar, conference centre and a events space, while the second tower will house almost 300 residential apartments.
FIRETEX FX6002 results particularly suitable for this project, as it can be applied off-site and enables operators to transport steelwork in few hours, rather than days. In addition, it can be applied direct to metal without the need for a primer or topcoat in some environments while retaining the highest levels of durability: up to 120 minutes of fire protection and long-term corrosion protection.
To increase fire protection, Sherwin-Williams will also provide the epoxy blast primer FIRETEX C69, the methacrylate intumescent coating FIRETEX FX6002 and a topcoat of Acrolon™ 7300 polyurethane.
“For the Y Towers project, a just-in-time delivery method requires beams to be delivered after they are coated off-site. This will help to reduce the exposure, backlog and time delays associated with application on-site. Through our partnership with Sherwin-Williams, the FX6002 system can be fully applied at the paint shop and moved on site and installed within one day, enabling the construction to move at a quicker pace with fewer bottlenecks,” stated the General Manager of Maeg Costruzioni SpA Alessio Ortolan, the steel fabricator for the construction works. “As a result, the quick curing of FX6002 should lead to less damage to the steel when moved, as we know beams will be fully cured when lifted on-site.”
“This project demanded the highest specification standards for skyscraper buildings. FX6002 is helping fabricators across Europe to offer high-quality passive fire protection, while also reducing bottlenecks and project costs.We are proud to have been involved to ensure the highest level of fire protection measures are in place where the lives of people and safety of property are at stake,” commented Valter Volta, Sherwin-Williams Regional Sales Manager for South East Europe.
Sherwin-Williams’ fire protection coatings have been also used in other construction projects in Europe and Asia, such as The Shard and the Leadenhall Building in London, as well as Azerbaijan’s Flame Towers.