Single-layer corrosion protection technology from Steelpaint specified for steel-intensive Frankfurt office façade under challenging seasonal conditions.
Steelpaint has entered the German civil engineering market with its Stelcatec corrosion protection technology, securing its first large-scale application on a commercial building project in Frankfurt am Main (Germany).
The company is supplying its single-coat Stelcatec-L-1NE system to protect approximately 1,600m² of façade steelwork at the DERTour Deutschland GmbH office building. The corrosion protection works are being carried out by Steelpaint’s long-standing application partner, Heinrich Schmid GmbH & Co. KG, which was appointed to execute the coating contract.
Stelcatec-L-1NE is being applied in a single 150µm coat, finished in RAL 6027. The system was selected based on Heinrich Schmid’s prior experience with the technology in industrial environments, where it has demonstrated long-term corrosion protection performance while reducing the complexity associated with conventional multi-coat systems.
Surface preparation has involved mechanical grinding to PSt2 and abrasive blasting to PSa 2, providing a suitable substrate for the one-coat application. According to Steelpaint, the specified preparation and coating regime reflects a balance between durability requirements and practical on-site execution.
Although Steelpaint is best known for corrosion protection solutions in the marine, offshore and hydraulic engineering sectors, the Frankfurt project marks a significant extension of Stelcatec into the German civil engineering market. The company said the size and visibility of the project make it an important reference for future structural steel applications in buildings and infrastructure.
A decisive factor in the selection of Stelcatec was its ability to be applied during late autumn and winter conditions. Traditional multi-coat corrosion protection systems often require full scaffold encapsulation, heating and humidity control to ensure correct curing in cold and damp weather.
“The project is being carried during a period that is typically unfavourable for external coatings work,” said Steelpaint Director Frank Müller. “Stelcatec is designed to expand the workable application window, allowing steel protection to proceed without the need for full scaffold enclosure or artificial climate control. This simplifies application and helps maintain project schedules.”
From the applicator’s perspective, the reduced number of coats and lower environmental control requirements were also key advantages. Florian Stark, Team Leader at Heinrich Schmid, said: “From an applicator’s perspective, reducing the number of coats and environmental controls required can have a direct impact on logistics, scheduling and overall costs. On this project, the system has enabled steady progress under challenging seasonal conditions.”
Steelpaint said the contract highlights how corrosion protection technologies developed for aggressive industrial environments can be transferred effectively into civil engineering, where exposure conditions, access limitations and programme certainty are critical.
“This project shows that a one-coat corrosion protection system can be deployed at meaningful scale on a civil engineering façade in Germany,” Müller said. “It supports our strategy of broadening Stelcatec’s application beyond traditional marine and hydraulic markets into building and infrastructure projects.”
DERTour Deutschland, part of the DERTour Group, is one of Germany’s largest travel groups, operating across tour operating, travel agency and destination management businesses. The Frankfurt building serves as a key office location and features a steel-intensive façade design.