Sherwin-Williams wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2021 for Its FIRETEX® intumescent fire protection technology

Sherwin-Williams, through its Protective & Marine division, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation 2021, one of the most prestigious awards for United Kingdom companies that celebrates business excellence and innovation. This is the second Queen’s Award for Enterprise that Sherwin-Williams has received in a span of only five years.

Sherwin-Williams won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its FIRETEX^® FX6002 coating that delivers exceptional passive fire protection for structural steel. Since its initial launch in 2018, this ultra-fast drying intumescent coating has transformed steelwork projects with its unprecedented speed of curing and dry handling times, gaining speedy adoption by architects, engineers and applicators.

Unlike alternative protective coatings, FIRETEX FX6002 can be applied off-site, enabling paint applicators to transport steelwork in a matter of hours rather than days – which means less downtime, fewer bottlenecks and faster project completion.

This year’s recognition is the second Queen’s Award for Enterprise that Sherwin-Williams has received, following the same award for Dura-Plate^TM 301W in 2016.

"To win two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: Innovation in just five years is a fantastic achievement for the Sherwin-Williams team. With FIRETEX FX6002 we have created a unique protective coating that is ideal for use in high-value infrastructure and construction projects,” said Ian Walker, Managing Director for Protective & Marine at Sherwin-Williams EMEAI.

"Key stakeholders can take advantage of a wide range of benefits throughout the project lifecycle, including time and cost savings, enhanced durability, and aesthetically pleasing finishes,” added Walker.

Sherwin-Williams is one of just 205 organisations nationally to be recognised with this prestigious honour. The Queen’s Awards celebrate excellence and are designed to help drive economic growth. In particular, the innovation category showcases companies whose use of industry expertise and technology innovation helps foster unique growth opportunities in their respective industries.

"FIRETEX FX6002 further demonstrates our long-standing commitment to innovation, which dates back to 1866. Our highly skilled and experienced team continue to push the boundaries, embrace the latest technologies and anticipate future trends to develop products that benefit our global industrial and commercial customers,” commented Walker.