Defender

Atkore Defender™ premium finish

For decades, engineers have had limited choices when it came to protecting steel from corrosion in outdoor environments. Hot-dip galvanised (HDG) has long been the standard and provides a good level of protection, but most often will not protect the steel for the entire service life of the facility. Stainless steel has been another option to provide superior protection, but at a much higher installation cost.

Why a new coating?

Today, new non-stainless steel solutions can offer longer useful life than hot-dip galvanised steel for nearly any application. New coatings can help better ensure that products and projects will last well beyond the period of any liabilities, and thus offer peace of mind to engineers and contractors alike. Coatings that can eliminate the need for repainting or recoating also translate into bottom-line profits, yielding bigger savings in the long term as well as up-front savings during construction. 

The Perfect Steel coating for outdoors

What are the desired properties for the ‘perfect’ steel for outdoor and corrosion-prone locations?

Ideally, this steel would:
• Offer a direct substitution and replacement for hot-dip galvanised and stainless steel
• Offer superior performance to eliminate or reduce any future need to repair or replace the system
• Be available at a similar or lower price than current options
• Offer a thin, consistent coating layer to make it easier to coat threaded fasteners
• Eliminate the binding of threads that is typically found in hot-dip galvanised steel
• Have a proven track record that can allay the fears of change industry-wide

Introducing Atkore Defender™

Atkore now offers a new line of coated steel products under its Defender™ brand. With this introduction engineers and contractors now have an alternative to stainless steel for high corrosion, outdoor applications. Atkore Defender steel enables delivery of systems that last against outdoor corrosion. Atkore Defender steel keeps its rust-free appearance for years, and its coating has self-healing properties that enables the steel to re-protect itself when cut or scratched.
Building with Atkore Defender can offer significant lifetime savings for a project, enabling teams to avoid replacement and costly maintenance that would otherwise be required with lesser types of steel coatings.

By using Atkore Defender engineers and contractors can
• Save up to 40 percent in material costs by avoiding stainless steel fasteners
• Greatly reduce labour costs by avoiding or eliminating cut end touch-ups
Longer life for steel can also translate to less waste and less scrap in landfills, improving the environment for all of us.

Tests & case studies

Dive into the laboratory tests and case studies that back-up our performance claims.