Company Profile

Background.

Optical Coating Technologies Ltd., founded in 1999, is a highly regarded applicator of coatings onto plastics. As our company name suggests, our speciality is in applying high quality optically clear coatings that enhance the function, performance, durability and appearance of thermoplastic products. Such coatings can be found on protective eye wear such as goggles, visors and face masks as well as instrument housings, signage, protective screens and display screens. The automotive, lighting and rail industries are users of such coatings on trim, lenses, covers, luminaires and switches.

Located in the centre of the UK, we have clients throughout the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, the Americas and India. Utilising economic methods of component handling and capable of coating complex 3D shapes, Optical Coating Technologies is the company to talk to if you want to improve the function of optical thermoplastics.

If you would like a visit from one of our experienced technical staff, then please contact us by telephone or email.

Purchased by Impreglon UK in January 2014, Optical Coating Technologies now enjoys the benefits of a worldwide presence as well as additional resources to develop and promote its unique range of coating services. Investment in Optical Coating Technologies by Impreglon UK since 2014 includes increasing the factory floor space by approximately 30%, additional curing ovens, an extension to the clean room, a more efficient CNC profiler and improved workshop facilities. Future investment will see additional coating plant and a purpose built office facility.

As a member of the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), Optical Coating Technologies recognises the role it plays in the safety industry. In addition, we are approved to OHSAS 18001:2007, the British Standard for occupational health and safety management systems. We also hold ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004.

Some more detail.

The purpose of the coatings is to give the product specific properties - for example: anti-fog properties, non-glare, abrasion resistance and / or solvent & chemical resistance.

Abrasion resistance and chemical resistance makes our coating services of enormous benefit to the automotive industry, whether it be on ambient lighting, external lighting and trim or on cabin interior switches. We have the ability to convert a designer's idea into reality.

The railway industry, road infrastructure and plastics engineering companies benefit from the abrasion resistance, anti-graffiti properties, anti-fog and non-glare of our coatings on all manner of components. Signage, windows, covers, display cases and lighting are just some of the applications where our coatings are used.

The lighting industry uses Optical Coatings on LED collimators for enhanced abrasion resistance. Non-glare coatings on luminaires help prevent or minimise the bright spot effect of LED's. Our UV stable, abrasion resistant and anti-fog coatings are also found on lens covers where they enhance the lens performance.

The hand held instrumentation industry benefit from abrasion resistance, solvent resistance and non-glare. Our ability to offer in-house CNC profiled coated Polycarbonate sheet and additional services such as assembly gives our clients added benefits.

Geared up for handling pre-production / development batch sizes through to volumes measured in tens of thousands, we have the resources and experience to cope with whatever you require. All our coatings are applied in an ISO 5 clean room (and within the clean room are ISO 1 standard areas). We have a wide range of application methods, including dip coating, flow coating and spray coating. This means we can take flat or formed sheets, injection mouldings or extrusions and apply the coating in the most cost effective way, which includes robotic application. Our coatings will give their thermoplastic base a range of new properties, such as: UV resistance, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, anti-graffiti, anti-static, mark resistance and anti-fog / non-mist. These types of properties are essential for adding value and extending the lifespan of the product. Cured either thermally or by UV, we can coat a wide range of sizes and quantities and welcome the opportunity to help develop new coating solutions.

Metallisation.

We can apply gold, silver, copper and aluminium on to plastics by vapour deposition. An example here would be the application of gold onto visors used in the steel or fire safety industries where heat as well as light reflection is needed. An added service is complete supply of the visor, where we will source the Polycarbonate sheet, trim, crimp and stamp it before metallising it. The metals we apply are 99.98% pure and can be applied to allow light transmission or be "solid" to give perfect reflection for mirrors. We can coat onto PMMA (Acrylic), Polycarbonate and ABS for example.

Coated sheet stockholding.

A third strand to our product range is the stockholding of plain and ready coated Polycarbonate sheets. These can be supplied as sheets or cut to your final shape and size using our in house fabrication equipment, which includes a 3 axis CNC. To ensure a very short lead time we carry stocks of 1mm to 6mm thick sheet, abrasion & chemical resistant coated on one and both sides. Both clear coated and non-glare coated sheets are likewise stocked. Sheets up to 20mm thick can be supplied on request. Used in signage applications where anti-glare and abrasion resistance is required, these sheets can also be provided in a range of different colours for internal use. For external use we offer UV stable Polycarbonate with a 10 year guarantee against breaking or yellowing caused by UV light.

Welding Visors.

Optical Coating Technologies is a key manufacturer of green tinted Triacetate visors for the welding and thermal spray markets. The visors can be supplied at various shades / transmissions to meet European Standard BS EN169:2002. As with all our services, we can process your free issue material or we can supply the complete package.

Other coatings.

We have a coating which combines the abrasion and chemical resistance of the hard coats with anti-microbial properties. Tested to ISO 22196 (which uses MRSA and E.Coli at either end of the spectrum), this coating will kill more than 99.9% of bacteria as compared with an untreated sample. The coating also gives a slight non-glare property to the coated component by nature of the added particles.

We are also working with a leading coating manufacturer on air cured optically clear coatings. This new range of hard coatings provide an excellent barrier to solvents and chemicals. Capable of bonding to a wide range of materials, we are developing new and exciting markets for this product range.

The small print.

Our General Terms & Conditions of Sale and Delivery, Processing Terms & Conditions and Purchasing Conditions can be reached by clicking on these phrases.

Optical Coating Technologies, creating clear vision.