More than 11,000 visitors converged on the Shanghai New International Expo Centre Nov. 18–20 to attend SFCHINA ’09, billed as China’s foremost exposition and conference for electroplaters, suppliers of surface finishing chemicals and equipment, as well as coating formulators and manufacturers of paint delivery systems. 08 February 2010
From medical instruments and implants to more pedestrian applications, Danco Anodizing puts all of their knowledge, heart and soul into every part. 10 September 2009
Investing in the business—and its people—pays big dividends for C.R. Hudgins Plating, a 60-year-old operation based in Lynchburg, Va. 19 August 2009
From electronics to aircraft parts, Master Metal Finishing of Patterson, N.J., finishes to spec—and beyond. 19 August 2009
Surface coating is of major importance technically as well as economically. Aluminum surface finishing processes are used not only in traditional fields such as mechanical and plant engineering, aircraft and spacecraft, automotive, and medical technology, but they are a key technology in many other industries as well. The application of functional coatings can modify the properties of material surfaces—for example, their hardness, roughness, chemical resistance, or wettability—to adapt them to the specific technical requirements they must meet. Of special importance in this respect is a coating’s protection against corrosion and wear and tear. 10 August 2009
Modify employee health plans and adjust production shifts. Renegotiate lending terms with banks and payment schedules with customers to secure more favorable financing and expedite receivables. Diversify your client base beyond the core, staple sectors in order to provide a buffer against markets prone to extreme cyclical swings. 24 July 2009
Kelly Mowry has four children to feed and a business to run. As president of Gull Industries, a metal coating service provider in Houston, Texas, Mowry—a 40-year industry veteran—has recently been thinking twice about his chosen profession. Make no mistake: The Texas A&M University alumnus loves his job, but with the sliding economy his company has taken a hit. 22 May 2009
On July 23, 2008, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a new regulation that regulates air emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from nine metal fabrication and finishing source categories. This rule, promulgated as 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 63, Subpart XXXXXX (“6X”), is another in a series of regulations that addresses emissions of HAPs from “area sources.” Unlike many other subparts to 40 CFR Part 63 that regulate the entire list of HAPs, 6X specifically regulates only emissions of compounds of cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel from nine specific source categories. 18 March 2009
Many theories abound as to what will be required to breathe new life back into the U.S. economy in general and industry in particular. For instance, do we prop up ailing banks and financial institutions, retool America's manufacturing base, or shore up the weakened housing market—the troubled sector that, according to many, touched off the recession? Regardless of the specific plan of attack, analysts argue that any successful initiative (or combination thereof) must adequately address both industry and the economy, as the two are inextricably linked. 18 February 2009
Paramount Metal Finishing, a New Jersey-based finisher, leverages capabilities, expertise, flexibility, and problem solving to its advantage—and that of its customers. 18 December 2008
The National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF) is offering members valuable assistance in deciphering Europe’s complex regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals—otherwise referred to by the acronym, “REACH.” The regulation—which went into effect in June 2007—aims to streamline a preceding legislative framework on chemicals by the European Union (EU). Among REACH’s main objectives: improve the protection of human health and the environment from the potential risks posed by chemicals; promote alternative test methods; support the free circulation of substances on the internal market; and enhance competitiveness and innovation. 03 November 2008
The Electronic Age is no longer a fad in industry. It’s a proven vehicle for conducting business, obtaining important information, and shopping for goods and services. For solid proof that the Internet is dramatically changing the way consumer and business products are marketed and sold today, look no further than the meteoric sales growth of online retailers and e-commerce transactions. 09 June 2008
"Don’t strive for balance in your life—it’s unrealistic." That was the sobering advice that Jones Loflin, renown speaker and corporate trainer, offered attendees at the 2008 NASF Management Conference in Los Cabos, Mexico, last month. Instead, Loflin suggests, business owners and operators, team leaders, and laymen alike should concentrate on mastering the art of managing priorities as life’s situations dictate. 01 April 2008
A challenging economic climate, coupled with increasing local and off-shore competition in the surface finishing industry, is forcing businesses to pay closer attention to satisfying customers. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," may seem self evident in the way we try to conduct our personal lives. Yet, this axiom is assuming new importance as a guiding principle in business. 03 March 2008
Professional Plating could dazzle you dizzy with its deep range of finishing services—rack zinc plating, barrel zinc plating, acrylic e-coating, epoxy e-coating, custom powder coating, and specialty ceramic coatings, to name a few. But it’s not just about diversity for diversity’s sake. The real hook, company principals note, is doing all of these things on a level of quality that’s repeatable and consistent—every time. 15 October 2007
Of the slew of informative educational seminars offered at FIN-X ’07 in Indianapolis last month, perhaps none hit home like the presentation by noted author and industrial turnaround specialist Michael Collins. In his keynote speech, titled “New Strategies for the New Century: Finding Growth Opportunities in Today’s Global Economy,” Collins took a detour from the oh-so fashionable tactic of bashing international competitors. Instead, Collins sought to provide participants with some textbook cases of how several American companies, particularly smaller ones, are competing successfully. 05 October 2007
Don’t let the name fool you. At Cadillac Plating, it’s all about the zinc: zinc iron hexavalent black, zinc iron trivalent black, zinc trivalent clear, zinc trivalent yellow, zinc hexavalent yellow, and zinc olive drab. It’s a specialty focus that, according to the company, provides a lucrative market niche at a time when many other finishing firms are moving toward diversification. And for Nick Salvati, Jr., plant manager of the Warren, Mich.-based company, that suits him just fine. 15 August 2007
Alan Ensign, vice president and general manager of Wyandotte, Mich.–based Cadon Plating & Coatings, is no stranger to trying times. When the company abandoned the commodity-driven rack plating business years ago, revenues took a 30% hit. Then in in 1994, government regs forced its exodus from the cadmium plating market and, much later, the olive-drab business. As a result of that move, 25% of sales vaporized—just like that. If those setbacks weren’t enough, the company lost once-steady business when the U-bolt suppliers for several major auto suppliers installed their own paint lines, essentially cutting out Cadon completely. 15 May 2007
A few weeks ago I headed off to the state of Michigan—reporter’s pad and camera in tow—with the goal of sizing up a handful of plating and finishing operations for possible inclusion in the new “Profile” section of the magazine. I got much more than I bargained for via a healthy dose of harsh reality. 09 May 2007
Christian Richter, founder of The Policy Group, said recently that there are two key regulatory issues that bear watching closely if you are a finisher: "The fact that we have more—not fewer—regulations coming at us over the next few years," and second, "They're coming at us from more places." 14 March 2006
Environmentalists, community leaders, labor representatives, local and national politicians—everyone, it seems, points the finger of blame at hexavalent chromium, accusing the substance of causing everything from groundwater contamination, soil and crop pollution, to human cancer and loss of business to overseas job shops. 08 March 2005
The spouted bed electrode, SBE, electroplating machine was specifically designed for parts with dimensions smaller than 1 cm in any single dimension. The key technology of the SBE plater is the use of a solution jet that circulates the parts throughout the plating chamber during cleaning, activation, plating, and rinsing operations. It is particularly suitable for plating parts that are difficult to plate in traditional equipment, including surface mount passive components, flat parts, leaded components, and pins. 18 February 2005
A proposed government regulation designed to protect workers from exposure to hexavalent chromium carries a potentially dangerous side effect. Chrome plating employers contend the ruling would bankrupt half the industry and force other companies to relocate to countries where environmental laws are less strict. 01 January 2005
This column discusses why parts drying is a problem with aqueous cleaning agents used as replacements for some solvents. I wrote about this topic in 1989. I have frequently updated the material, to protect the guilty. But basically, drying of parts is similar to how it was handled years earlier, and before that. 08 December 2004
Wow! This may be the initial reaction of P.K. Selective Metal Plating customers when first viewing the colorful and lustrous product finishes made possible by a proprietary multi-color/splash anodizing system. The firm continues to push the envelope for this process with national and international customers. 01 December 2004
Although 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, nearly all of it is contaminated with salt and therefore inappropriate for most uses. 30 November 2004
In part I of this column, I showed how common open-top vapor degreasers can fail if used with solvent blends. The reason is the vapor produced from most binary solvent blends becomes enriched in the most volatile of the two components. If that vapor escapes from the degreaser via any means, the bath becomes depleted of that most volatile component and the composition becomes a pure component that is the least volatile. 12 November 2004
It is very unlikely that many newly developed cleaning solvents will be introduced in the coming years. The reasons include: the costs are too great; the expected return is too small; and limitations of chemistry make the chance of success in providing a perfect solvent too low. Other than those reasons, we’ll all be developing new solvents. Yet that doesn’t mean those doing solvent cleaning will have to make due with currently available and occasionally imperfect offerings. 09 November 2004
The efficacy, convenience, and cost effectiveness of vapor corrosion inhibiting (VCI) packaging products have made their application for rust control almost universal in automotive, machine tools, aerospace, electronics, power generation, and the military. As with all industrial chemical products, however, the increased usage of VCI products has also raised significant scientific interest as to their health and safety. 02 November 2004
The use of volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCIs) within the metal finishing industry presents two generally unrecognized health and performance problems. VCIs have been used to prevent corrosion since World War II yet have had little risk analysis. Although many of the benefits of VCIs have been published, VCIs’ darker side is only now becoming known. 02 November 2004
Paint solvents and other airborne chemicals classified as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are undesirable air pollutants because they have unpleasant odors and contribute to the formation of smog. Federal, state, and local regulations limit the amount of these chemicals emitted from manufacturing facilities; so many industries must abate these VOCs. 18 October 2004
Washing, rinsing, and drying are processes: combinations of chemicals and equipment. When you make a selection to solve a cleaning problem, you have at least three chances to make mistakes. 08 September 2004
One of my responsibilities as Organic Coatings Editor for Metal Finishing is attending conferences, be they coatings-related, environmental, or military. I've been doing this for so many years that I've developed a well-honed routine for getting the most out of the available time. 01 June 2004
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