Protecting steel products from corrosion is important for a long service life.

Installed in communities stretching the length and breadth of the UK, Broxap's street furniture, litter and recycling bins, cycle parking products and outdoor infrastructure needs to stand up against the nation’s weather extremes.

Broxap is committed to producing safe, strong, secure products made from long-life, durable materials.

They offer high-quality products and a high-quality service, supporting a circular economy by doing everything they can to keep resources in use as long as possible so the maximum value is extracted and waste is minimised.

To support that, many of their steel products are hot dip galvanised with an additional option of a powder coated finish also available to customers.

What is hot dip galvanising?
Hot dip galvanising is a treatment which involves dipping a steel product in a bath of molten zinc which protects both internal and external surfaces. The zinc coating acts as a barrier between the material and its environment.

The process is defined by the ISO 1461: 2022 standard and the galvanising undertaken for Broxap’s fabricated metalwork conforms to this.

The Galvanizers Association says that when hot dip galvanising is specified, the surface of the steel is completely covered with a uniform coating, the thickness of which is determined principally by the thickness of the steel being galvanised.

This coating becomes an integral part of the steel surface and is resistant to abrasion. It is also of a sufficient thickness to meet the corrosion performance required across UK locations.
The Galvanizers Association says that even in coastal environments, the average 85-micron coating can still deliver a life expectancy of 30 years or more.

Their Guarantees and Warranties page covers this in more detail.

In addition to hot dip galvanising to ISO 1461:2022, their range of steel litter and recycling bins and cycle lockers use hot dip coated steel sheet metal to the BS EN 10346: 2015 standard.

Hot dip galvanising and sustainability
Taking into account the reliability and durability of hot dip galvanising, the long-term benefits of the treatment lower the environmental and economic cost.

Repeated maintenance is eliminated, hot dip galvanised products typically have a life span over decades and galvanised steel can be recycled and repurposed.

The galvanising process itself is also very efficient with excess materials reused or recycled. Just as Broxap is making big changes to support sustainable manufacturing through economical processes that minimise environmental impact, so too is the galvanising industry investing in new technologies for better energy and emissions management.

PROTEX™ Polyester Powder Coating
For extra protection, or where a product needs to match a particular colour scheme or reflect brand identity, galvanised products can be powder coated.

At Broxap, their new automated metal polyester powder coating system features the unique eco-friendly, durable PROTEX™ proprietary surface treatment and decorative colour coating processes.

This surface preparation treatment for galvanised steel employs the chemistry of organic phosphorus compounds and is totally free of heavy metals.

The nanocoating created by the process provides excellent adhesion for powder coating and achieves BS EN 13438:2013 compliance for superior levels of corrosion protection compared to conventional powder coating methods.

PROTEX™ offers:

- Natural weathering resistance
- Resistant to humidity
- Resistant to SO2
- 750 hours Neutral salt spray protection
- 500 hours Acetic salt spray protection.

The advanced systems and technology they employ in the powder coating process at Broxap, including a reverse osmosis system to purify the rinse water, achieves this superior finish while reducing water consumption by up to 50% if compared to conventional zinc phosphate pre-treatment, generates no waste water and does not create any toxic sludge.

Hot dip galvanised steel products
Hot dip galvanising is a process applied to street furniture and other outdoor products from Broxap such as seating, shelters, canopies and walkways, litter bins and recycling bins, bollards and cycle parking products.

Designed and manufactured at their 125,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in North Staffordshire, their teams closely monitor the quality of their product range.

Utilising hot dip galvanised steel fits in perfectly with their own beliefs of delivering reliable, dependable high-quality products to our customers.

It also plays an important role in a circular economy. Within their business they are embedding a reduce, reuse and recycle culture, applying lean manufacturing principles to our day-to-day systems.

Using hot dip galvanising processes complements these systems, employing efficient methods for long-term durability and maximising opportunities to reuse, remake and recycle resources.