The strength of steel is almost legendary. Due to its versatility, steel is a proven material in the construction industry for over 100 years and as an example is widely used around the world for the construction of bridges. Many iconic and word famous bridges have been built with steel: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (USA), the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney (Australia), the Ikitsuki Bridge in Nagasaki (Japan), and the Forth Rail Bridge near Edinburgh (Scotland) to name a few.

Bridges made of steel are extremely robust, but they do have an Achilles heel: Rust. In fact, corrosion, mainly caused by exposure to saltwater is the worst enemy of these bridges. The best way to protect steel from corrosion is to cover it in a protective coating; and for bridges this has often become an endless process. In the UK for example, the painting of the Forth Rail Bridge, the country's first all-steel bridge and an UNESCO World Heritage Site, created the common expression "like painting the Forth Bridge"; a description of a never-ending job – one which takes so long that when work is finished, time has already come to start the entire process over again.

No doubt, the non-stop painting of steel bridges is a very costly business. So how can this money guzzling problem be solved? For the formulation of industrial coatings Evonik's business line Crosslinkers has developed a high-performance epoxy curing agent product line which delivers excellent anti-corrosion protection and chemical resistance for all kind of metal. Its name: Ancamide®. Coatings based on Ancamide® can extend the life of metal structures by protecting metals like steel for decades to come. In short: Ancamide® brings the continuously painting of steel bridges to an end. Due to the combined offering of excellent corrosion and chemical resistance, Ancamide® is also the perfect choice for heavy duty marine and protective coatings.