Solvent Recyclers

Testimonial - “Great machines.” 

Grant Camp says his son Kelvin, owner of Marine Blast and Paint Christchurch, is the third generation to be involved in the industry.

The family can trace their business’s history back to Dunedin, where it was located close to the coast and serviced, among other clients, the local fishing vessels. When a significant fishing company moved to Lyttleton, they followed and their business grew.

The 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, however, had a significant impact and the decision was made to sell.

Grant says he, his wife Debbie, and son Kelvin were “pestered” back into business by former clients with Kelvin eventually starting his own company.

Today, Marine Blast and Paint Christchurch paints vessels in dry dock including those owned by all major New Zealand fishing companies.

The scale of vessel maintenance is mammoth and time pressures are intense.

Vessels are water blasted and spot abrasive blasted before priming and painting with turnaround of just 10-12 days. As a result Grant says; “Weekends don’t mean a thing to us.” Instead, work keeps the family and staff of ten “well out of mischief”.

The company has had its IST-C2 solvent recycler for over a year. Grant says he had a similar but smaller IST recycler in his previous business. He says both were “great machines” and he has found Almax “very good” to deal with.

Their recycled solvents are used for cleaning the spray machines – a big job in anyone’s estimation.

The business goes through 100’s of litres of paint a day and with long lines, cleaning is a significant commitment. “Each pump would take around 18 litres of solvent to clean it out and we have three of those.”