Plating

As everyone in the shipbuilding industry knows, repairs are a constant and inevitable fact of marine life, resulting in costly downtime and loss of earnings. Saltwater and harsh operating conditions cause corrosion and damage to key components such as pumps, valves and motors, necessitating regular maintenance or replacement. Commonly used to repair or salvage components and extend in-service life, surface coatings brings many advantages, including corrosion protection and wear resistance.

To an eye doctor, 20/20 translates into perfect vision, the ability to focus equally well on what’s close at hand and what’s far away. As a year, however, 2020 has meant anything but certainty and precise vision, especially in the finishing and coatings industry.

Tyler Thomas is vice president and general manager at Technical Plating in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He is active in the finishing community as vice president of the NASF chapter in Minneapolis.

Monique Guyse, a senior sales perfectionist at PlateCo in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, says they are big believers in “Doing it right the first time.” 

William Grady Harder, Jr., an owner and president of Electro Lab II in Olsmar, Florida since 1977, passed at 82 on July 19.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 22, 2020, released the prepublication version of final regulations establishing “significant new use rules” for long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) chemical substances, a subset of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

AOTCO Metal Finishing in Billerica, Massachusetts, has been awarded ISO 13485:2016 certification, allowing ot to meet the strict regulations and demanding requirements of the medical device industry.

How apropos that a third-generation finishing operation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is celebrating the installation of its third line. That is the case at Master Finish, which was founded by John Mulder in 1959, the son of immigrants from the Netherlands who started Master Finishing and Deburring company to help local stamping and casting facilities with the automatic removal of flash and burrs from the products they produced.

Nadcap will hold its Nadcap Management Council (NMC) and Task Group meetings for finishers, coaters and others from the manufacturing sector from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22 in Pittsburgh, PA. 

The ASETS Defense 8th Workshop on Sustainable Surface Engineering for Aerospace and Defense will be held virtually, August 4-6. 

Aaron Johnson was just a few years out of college and working hard in the chemical industry when he spied an opportunity that he just couldn’t pass up. The now-president of Oshkosh Plating Technologies in Wisconsin heard the owner of the shop was retiring, and in 2013 took a quick leap into business ownership.

John Sullivan is National Sales Manager at Plating International, a one stop shop for chrome plating chemicals and equipment in North America where they manufacture both liquid and dry materials, as well a high speed blends.

When Dennis Hartwig was looking for a business opportunity to invest in back in 1994, one of his financial advisors told him that getting back into the electroplating business wasn’t a wise move.

Chrissy Pullara is the decorative business development and product manager for the Americas at MacDermid Enthone, and is recognized as an industry expert in decorative finishes throughout the automotive supply chain.

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) recently assisted a Brooklyn metal finishing operation improve acid use efficiency to reduce acid purchase costs, treatment costs, and hazardous waste quantities.

Foresight Finishing has been granted Nadcap heat treating accreditation following the successful conclusion of audit 204272. The Tempe, Arizona-based shop specializes in plating connector contacts, RF components and loose piece contacts.

A New Jersey company will be taking over the former Medina Plating operation in Medina, Ohio.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has completed a study of 11 surface finishing plants in the state and determined that suppressants used to reduce perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were, in fact, PFOS-free.

The folks at Plateco in Reedsburg, Wisconsin know they can’t hide from the truth. In fact, in their “pursuit for plating excellence,” they stick their return rate at the very top of their website for all the world to see.