Industrial painting and abrasive blasting in Rouyn-Noranda

What we do in Rouyn-Noranda

We prepare and protect steel and concrete on industrial sites in Rouyn-Noranda: abrasive blasting to the specified grade, anti-corrosion painting of structures and equipment, tank linings, concrete protection and epoxy floors. Work is carried out by our crews and qualified subcontractors, under one quote and one inspection file.

Coatings are our core business. The system is chosen from the ISO 12944 corrosivity category, which can climb quickly near metallurgical processes, and from the abrasion and chemistry specific to each piece of equipment. Every coat is measured and recorded. We serve industrial sites only, not residential.

• Protective coatings: systems and inspection
• Industrial painting
• Abrasive blasting

Mines, smelting and forestry: what attacks the steel

Rouyn-Noranda was born from copper, and its copper smelter still makes it a metallurgical hub. Around a smelter, steel faces an atmosphere loaded with sulphur gases, metal dust and moisture that leaves acidic deposits on frames, ducts, stacks and roofs. In that environment an ordinary system fails quickly: it takes thorough preparation, a system designed for high corrosivity and particular attention to hot zones.

The area's gold and copper mines, underground and open-pit, add the usual needs: surface equipment (headframes, conveyors, concentrators, tanks, tailings lines) and underground equipment (shaft steel, ventilation, dewatering). Forestry completes the picture: sawmills and wood processing plants, with their conveyors, silos and building frames.

• Steel structure painting
• Mining equipment painting
• ISO 12944 corrosivity categories

Most requested services in Rouyn-Noranda

Repainting steel structures in metallurgical settings and painting mining equipment come up most often, almost always after near-white abrasive blasting to remove rust and salts. On older structures, the existing paint sometimes contains lead: it is tested before quoting, and its removal follows containment measures specific to that hazard.

Hydro blasting removes deposits and soluble salts without abrasive, or where abrasive is hard to recover. Process, water and reagent tanks and water towers need an internal lining suited to the liquid and an exterior paint that stands up to frost. Epoxy floors for shops and process rooms, and protection of concrete basins and containment areas, round out the demand.

• Lead paint removal
• Hydro blasting
• Tank and water tower painting
• Industrial epoxy flooring
• Concrete secondary containment coating

On site or in a shop?

On site. We have no shop in Rouyn-Noranda: our crews arrive with mobile blasting, painting, dust collection and heating units, and work on your structures, inside your buildings and in your galleries. For a frame, a duct or a tank, this is often the only realistic option.

A removable part can be treated in the site's maintenance shop, provided containment and ventilation are set up there. The quote clearly states what is done in place and what requires moving the part.

• Maintenance and rehabilitation

Planning travel and shutdowns

Every job in Rouyn-Noranda is a planned trip from LaSalle. First, the window is set: annual shutdown, a single line outage, or zone-by-zone work during production. Then the survey from your photos and drawings, product and abrasive quantities, access (scaffolding, lifts, rope) and the operator's permits are settled remotely: confined space, lockout, work at height, hot work.

Equipment arrives before the crew so the shutdown window goes to the work. When several Abitibi sites have similar needs, jobs can be grouped. For a multi-trade shutdown, our project management service coordinates the coatings with the rest of the schedule.

• Project management and shutdown coordination

Climate and heated enclosures

Winter in Rouyn-Noranda is long and very cold. Every product has a minimum application and cure temperature, and the steel must stay above dew point during application. We work under heated, ventilated enclosures with indirect heating, and measure substrate temperature, relative humidity and dew point before every coat.

Exterior work is best placed in the warm season, interior work during winter. Near a hot process, the opposite is the issue: surface temperature can exceed the product's limit, which calls for a suitable system or work during a shutdown.

• Applying epoxy in cold weather during a winter shutdown

Standards and inspection records

We apply the owner's specification. Common references are ISO 12944 for system selection, ISO 8501-1 and SSPC/AMPP standards for the preparation grade (SSPC-SP 6, SP 10), and SSPC-PA 2 for dry film thickness. The site receives a file: ambient conditions, preparation grade, thicknesses, adhesion and continuity depending on the system, data sheets and photos. Independent inspection can be added.

• Coating inspection
• SSPC-SP 10 surface preparation