About
Argonaut
Argonaut is a specialist metal facade business based in Southampton.
Family owned and managed, Argonaut manufactures and installs facades and decorative exterior components for clients across a wide range of sectors. With a talented and experienced team, and industry-leading facilities, Argonaut can tackle even the most complex of fabrication challenges. Argonaut covers the length and breadth of the UK, and has completed projects from Cornwall to the Shetland Isles, and the Republic of Ireland.
Facilities
Argonaut has the full range of pre-treatment, manufacturing and powdercoating facilities on site at it Southampton headquarters. This ensures short lead times and fast turnarounds, and we respond regularly to urgent and time-sensitive requests, fabricating, despatching and installing specialist facades quickly, without compromising on quality.
Metal Fabrication
All of Argonaut’s modern and state of-the-art CNC manufacturing equipment is based on site, and includes press-brake and punching machines. Meanwhile, all of our structural welders are British Standard-certified to BS EN 1090.
Argonaut also uses advanced machinery to cut and shape sheet metal to millimetre accuracy, and to make aluminium composite materials (ACM) panels that achieve a flatter and sharper finish.
Argonaut is committed to supplying noncombustible products, and has a comprehensive working knowledge of current building regulations. Meanwhile, we look to stay in tune with, and one step ahead of trends and advances in the metal fabrication industry – so our knowledge, experience and facilities will always meet or exceed our clients’ requirements and expectations.
Pre-treatment
Argonaut is one of the only sheet metal facade businesses in the UK to have its own seven-tank chromium pre-treatment facility on site.
We have Approved Applicator status for the world’s leading powder coating manufacturers, including Interpon AkzoNobel, du Pont and Valspar. In addition, our tanks meet the strictest and most up-to-date environment standards, while our facilities are fully accessible and checked regularly by the Local Water Authority.
The sheet metal Argonaut works with – typically aluminium – needs specialist treatment before powder coating to avoid the oxidisation that can cause paintwork to fail and detach from the metal. The pre-treatment Argonaut provides ensures an air and watertight seal to the metal, and the optimum ‘key’ surface for the powder coating to adhere to.
Argonaut monitors all aspects of its pre-treatment facility continuously, and analyses samples in its own laboratories. The data we collect and store means Argonaut and its partner powder-coating manufacturers can offer back-to-back warranties of 25 years and more.
Powder Coating
Argonaut carries out all powder coating on site, to British and European Standards BS EN 12206-1:2004. We also have Approved Applicator status from the leading powder coating manufacturers, so we can offer the full range colours, textures and finishes. We also match bespoke colours to clients’ requirements.
With the vast majority of requirements being bespoke, Argonaut typically powder coats by hand. This means a superior finish, and allows sprayers to apply coatings more precisely, but we can apply by machine if required.
Our coated panels come with a back-to-back warranty of 25+ years. The fact that Argonaut has never received a warranty claim is testament to the quality of our output.
Find out more about the companies that have given Argonaut its Approved Applicator status, including the full range of powder coating colours available:
Why Argonaut?
At Argonaut we’ve built an unrivalled reputation for the quality of our fabrication and finishing, and for the meticulous attention to detail that builds our clients’ confidence in what we do.
There are four key reasons Argonaut has become an industry leader and a trusted partner to so many sectors:
Innovation
Argonaut is renowned for its forward-thinking approaches to tackling complex challenges.
Quality
All design, manufacture, pre-treatment and powder coating is carried out on site, with a keen focus on quality and efficiency at every step of every process. This also means we can guarantee short lead times and quick turnarounds, whatever the requirement.
Confidence
Argonaut is financially secure, and invests continuously in its business and operations. As such, we can handle £multi-million projects with ease and reassurance.
Talent
We attract and retain the most talented designers, production managers, fabricators, welders and installers in the business.