9 July 2026
How Knotwood cut powder consumption with a paint stripping upgrade
Knotwood makes architectural aluminium systems with wood-effect finishes, the kind of product where the finish is the product. So when the stripping system on their vertical powder coating line started falling behind, it wasn’t a minor maintenance issue.
Growing production exposed the weak link
As Knotwood’s vertical powder line began running at a faster line speed, that speed went beyond the capacity of their existing stripping system, the machine responsible for cleaning hooks and hanging components between coating cycles.
On paper, that sounds like a throughput number. On the shop floor, it looked like:
- Staff spending significant time each day manually stripping and cleaning residual powder from hooks
- Direct contact with stripping chemicals during loading, unloading, and cleaning
- Grounding issues during coating, caused by residue the system was no longer stripping properly
- Powder waste climbing as transfer efficiency dropped
- A line that was only as fast as its slowest, most overworked component
The biggest challenge was that Knotwood needed the upgrade done inside an existing plant layout, without shutting the line down for days or weeks.
Upgrading without stopping production
RYONEX, ALIT Technologies’ exclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand for FASTRIP® and Metalstrip® paint stripping systems and chemicals, ran the technical assessment and worked directly with ALIT’s team to design a solution built specifically for Knotwood’s line:
- a larger treatment tank, upgraded ultrasonic cleaning, stronger heating performance,
- a redesigned chemical formulation, all engineered to drop into the original plant layout rather than require a rebuild around it.
The new chemistry was developed to be safer for staff to work with, directly addressing the chemical contact risk from the old process.
The numbers here are the part that’s easy to be skeptical of, so it’s worth being specific about them:
- The old system came out and the new FASTRIP ISP unit went in in 12 hours
- Full commissioning was complete within 2 days
- Within 24 hours, Knotwood’s hooks were coming out completely clean
- Knotwood measured roughly 5% savings in powder consumption
- The line is now saving an estimated 30 labour hours per month
A third option beyond stop-or-suffer
If your stripping system is falling behind, it’s tempting to think you only have two options: stop the line to fix it, or keep pushing the old system and absorb the consequences: the manual cleaning, the waste, the safety risk.
That second option is exactly what got Knotwood into trouble in the first place.
Their case shows a third path: an upgrade can happen inside your existing footprint, on your live production schedule, without weeks of downtime. 12 hours to swap the unit, 2 days to full commissioning, results visible within 24 hours.
Interested in what a FASTRIP upgrade could do for your line? Get in touch with our team to talk through your specific setup.
