| 43 Stabicraft Marine MARINE Stabicraft Marine’s 2250 Ultracab WT received three top level awards for design excellence last year including Best of the Best in the prestigious international Red Dot Design Award. • SPECIALISTS IN ALUMINIUM BOAT PAINTING • SPECIALISTS IN TRUCK PAINTING • 8m&12mFULLDOWNDRAFTSPRAY/BAKEOVENS • ONSITE SANDBLASTING • TRUCK ALLOY WHEEL POLISHING MACHINE • CAR TOUCH UPS AND RESPRAYS • INSURANCE WORK PROUDLY SUPPORTING STABICRAFT FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS 281 South Bond St, Invercargill P: (03) 218 3355 E: bobchristielimited@yahoo.co.nz COMMERC IAL VEH I CLE & BOAT SPRAY PAI NTERS Going from strength to strength Established in 1963, highly regarded Invercargill paint business Bob Christie Ltd has gone from strength to strength with new leading-edge spray ovens revolutionising its production capability and quality. One of the ovens, a 12-metre long drive-through oven installed in 2017, enables the company to more e iciently spray-paint large equipment such as trucks and trailers, boats, caravans and horse-floats in a fully controlled environment. The company also replaced its thirty year old eight metre car oven last October with a new state-of-the-art waterborne bake oven. Bob Christie Ltd is a painter for renowned Invercargill boat manufacturer Stabicraft and has been painting its boats for around 30 years. Bob Christie Ltd owner Graeme Robertson has greatly appreciated the “fantastic” relationship with Stabicraft over the years. It was the consistent growth of Stabicraft that gave him the confidence to invest in the 12 metre oven and replace the 8 metre oven, also employing additional sta , including apprentices. The e iciencies created by the oven meant about 600 large items were able to be painted last year, in addition to items painted in the company’s eight metre oven. In the case of Stabicraft’s boats, after preparation they are heated in the oven, primed, top-coated then baked at 65 degrees Celsius at which stage the paint is hard. The paint process can take from two to five hours depending on the size of boat and colour choice. While the significant gains in production e iciency from the new ovens have been a game-changer, other factors include paint manufacturer warranties requiring application in a down-draft bake oven and the ability to meet increasingly stringent health and safety and environmental standards. The existing eight metre oven used to take 15 to 20 minutes to heat, but the new ones are up to temperature in about half that time. With the number of items painted each year, the energy savings are significant. Bob Christie Ltd ’s reputation for an uncompromising standard of workmanship combined with the modern state-of-the-art plant means that business comes from a wide area, and plenty of it. As well as full automotive painting, the company undertakes general panel and touch-up work, sand blasting, wheel polishing and a variety of industrial work.
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