hot dip galvanizing plating, phosphate coating Spotlight on hot dip galvanizing Premium Surface Treatment Service Providers

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1 Special Feature 147 hot dip chemical plating plating, phosphate coating Spotlight on hot dip Premium Surface Treatment Service Providers anodizing arranged by Fastener World coating plating, T he commodities we use in our daily life are always in contact with air or being worn out while in service. Through the process of surface chemical treatment, fasteners can not only show delicate appearance and special surface properties such as electrical conductivity, light reflectivity, but more importantly, increase their capability of anti-rust and corrosion resistance. phosphate coating With these finishing processes, durability can be extended and products can be protected. Main surface treatment methods include plating, phosphate coating, chemical plating, hot dip,, anodizing, coating to name a few. The quality of surface treatment deeply influences the performance of products which it is applied to. Therefore, surface treatment has become an important part of the industry many domestic and foreign companies are eager to invest in. In the era with rising concerns on environmental protection, the surface treatment industry starts to pay attention to sustainability and gradually focus on becoming more eco-friendly. So far, American, European and Japanese surface treatment service providers still take the lead. However, hot in recent years, competitors in Asia have also begun to take this issue seriously and actively invest in setting up their own plating, heat treating and surface treating facilities in anticipation of achieving the efficient one-stop production and help customers having higher quality demand conduct strict quality control. plating dip hot dip In this issue, we interviewed several excellent surface treatment service providers, inviting them to share their experience in the industry, their advantages compared to other competitors and their future goals and projection for the surface treatment industry. plating, phosphate coating chemical plating

2 148 Special Feature Can t Find a Good Electroplater? Modern Alloy Plating is Your Most Reliable Partner! by Michelle Hsieh, Fastener World Modern Alloy Plating was established in 2005 providing surface treatment for various screws and nuts such as zincnickel alloy plating, acid zinc plating, alkaline noncyanide plating, and. Its alloy plating plant spanning 8,265 square meters in Benjhou Industrial Park in Ganshang District of Kaohsiung City has become operational since November The alloy plating plant introduced Taiwan s first passivation liquid recycling system from Europe. Unlike other traditional factories. Modern Alloy Plating controls quality through specialized technical talents, that is why it could become a rising star in the high-value surface treatment industry of Taiwan with its excellent equipment on par with German standards. The whole plant is arranged and designed to German standards. Notably, the passivation liquid recycling system is the first advanced equipment being introduced into Taiwan. The whole passivation line is fully automatic and more accurate on quality control, preventing human-made errors. Besides, each roller on the line is equipped with a rectifier underneath, which means more cost as compared to other electroplating plants that usually has a rectifier equipped for every two or three roller on the line. For high value products, heat treatment in addition to raw materials and technology is an important part. With a great deal of investment in establishing the alloy plating plant, Modern Alloy Plating is very confident of it service. Its fully automatic electroplating line, fully automatic passivation line, passivation liquid recycling system, as well as lab precision instruments including AA Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, X-ray Film Thickness Analyzer, and Automatic Titration Analyzer are all controlled by professional talents through the whole process. The company has been a Taiwanese alloy plating plant with the largest capacity and automated equipment. * Its corrosion-resistant metal fasteners are treated with new technology that replaces harmful hexavalent chromium. * Its nano-coating as a hole sealing technology can refill post-electroplating gaps after baking. Interview with President THOMAS SHIH Q: The automotive fastener market is on the highest priority of market development for Taiwanese fastener industry. Tell us about your technology and certification. A: Heat treatment is a post-process for automotive fasteners and aims to extend the service life of products. Car manufacturers have stringent requirements on fasteners. The fasteners are required to be able to prevent corrosion and stabilize coefficient of friction (CoF). Towards these two aspects, our preparations include passing TS16949 certification and purchasing chemical liquids and CoF testers designated by car manufacturers. Meanwhile, we are applying for lab certification, improving our staff s knowledge of car manufacturers requirements through training. So far, we have passed Renault and Daimler certification. Next, we ll apply for BMW and GM certification. Q: The business philosophy of your company is to make the best products of the world. Tell us more about this. A: I fly to Germany as least 3 times a year to visit the biggest electroplating plant in Germany, and learn its electroplating technology as well as its most advanced equipment that is most capable of improving productivity, as I d like to make Modern Alloy Plating localized and synchronized with German top quality. Through practical operating instructions, our fasteners corrosion resistance performance has surpassed our counterparts in Asia. Our belief is Modern Alloy Plating, Make Astounding Protection! In the coming year, we will also strive to improve equipment automation to enhance our production efficiency. Q: A company lives on quality. how would you compare your electroplating quality, technology and price with European/American/ Japanese companies? How do you control quality for your clients?

3 150 Special Feature A: The manufacture of fasteners involves several different processes, so good quality control on every manufacturing process is the only way to making the final product meet car manufacturers requirements. Therefore, we always conduct pre-electroplating testing when fasteners arrive at our plant. If we detect any problem, we ll immediately inform clients to come and check with us, and then we categorize fasteners of different dimensions and establish our exclusive manufacturing SOP, so that online engineers have operating standards to follow. We also have our men on the manufacturing line specifically for inspecting fasteners as well. If we detect any problem, we will return the fasteners to the previous manufacturing process. The final products will be tested for outer appearance and film thickness, and go for salt spray test. Such stringent quality control is to make the best products surpassing the ones from European/American/Japanese companies. Q: When it comes to surface treatment, most people may start to worry about its pollution to the environment and its damage to human bodies. Do you have any recent eco-friendly policies or technology to cope with this issue? A: Each time I fly to Germany, the focus of my trip is environmental protection and waste water processing equipment. The ongoing trend in Europe is to use advanced equipment to recycle and reuse waste water to turn electroplating into an eco-friendly industry and minimize the damage to the environment. In the future, we will continue with the introduction of state-of-the-art equipment into our plant to help address the waste water issue. Illegal waste water discharge is already the past. Now the one way to standing unwaveringly in the industry is to stick to the belief of eco-friendliness. Q: With your experience in trade, fastener production/sales, and surface treatment, share with us your thoughts and feel about your 3-decade career life in the fastener industry. A: Taiwanese fastener production has to seek higher added product value. Heat treatment is one of the most important added values for fasteners. It is usually heard in the industry that, if a standard fastener is applied with highly corrosion resistant plating, such as galvanization that can be free from white rust for 72 hours without hole sealing or zinc-nickel alloy plating that prevents white rust for over 120 hours, it becomes a special product with opportunities to draw clients and stay away from price cutting competition. Whether you are a maker or supplier, domestic or abroad, you are welcome to contact us if you want to place an order for high value added products, if you encounter surface treatment problems, or if you need related technology. We believe we can provide the best service with technology on par with the European standards. Shield-like Protective Anti Rust and Corrosion Coatings from AEGIS TECH by Michelle Hsieh, Fastener World Aegis Tech Co., Ltd. established in 1993 is specialized in the production and sale of various special coatings. In order to increase more practical experience for itself, Aegis set up Xing-Show Coating Co., Ltd. in 2003 to strengthen its database and set up a plating facility in 2007 to build solid relationships with upstream/downstream partners and achieve better quality. In 2016, the new AEGIS brand was created in order to demonstrate its difference from other paint factories and provide better products with a responsible attitude. Special Coatings with Multi-Protective Performance in Response to Environment Changes Since the start of industrialization, the global environment has become worse than before with cases such as the smog in London and Beijing. The dispersion of SO 2 has also affected the air quality in Taiwan. Hence, solving the problem of smog is not enough. Acid/alkaline industrial waste and the acidity/alkalinity of land are problems, too. In order to avoid wood from rottening and worm bites, many wooden houses and outdoor public facilities in N. America and Japan will be treated with anti-rottening processes by injecting ACQ, CCA, ACA and ACC solutions. According to relevant statistics, fasteners treated with Dacromet (an industry-leading zinc chromate surface treatment) soon gets rusty in ACQ treated wood. Even the ACQ solution provider, U.S. CSI, suggests wood processers use nickel-plated or S/S fasteners. The main reasons that fasteners treated with Dacromet are prone to getting rusty in such wood are: (1) The content of anti-rottening solutions such as ACQ, CCA and AAC in wood must remain at least 0.7kg/m 3. However, wood treated with such solutions will generate ammonia making wood alkaline, which may corrode iron, aluminum and zin inserted afterwards (2) General Dacromet does not contain epoxy or other acid/ alkali/corrosion resistant macromolecular materials; (3) Some active zinc and aluminum flakes are directly exposed on outer appearances; (4) Some coatings will be worn down when screws are re-driven into wood plates. As a result, screws in wood will be soon corroded. In order to respond to these challenges, Aegis has recently released a special shield-like coating featuring multiple protective systems which include polyester, epoxy, zinc silicate polymer and zinc plating. According to the EU s environmental protection directive, hazardous substances like Cr6 and lead have been prohibited from use since Protective solutions of Aegis applied

4 152 Special Feature to fasteners do not contain contents that shouldn t exist and its coating layers can be chromium-free passive layers, which do not contain Cr+6 and Cr+3 and are compliant with requirements for anti-rust and environmental protection. Products of Aegis have passed relevant tests such as: neutral salt spray test and acid rain resistance test (2,000hrs and 15 cycles without red rust); humidity and heat resistance test (240hrs without any change); adhesion strength test (no peel-off after screwing and unscrewing a screw into/out of the ACQ southern pines for three times). In addition to anti-rust, high corrosion resistance and good external appearance, all products of Aegis are also compliant with REACH and RoHS chromium-free requirements. Aegis has also passed the Report ISO-9226 C4 test conducted by Sweden SP SITAC. Aegis coatings are superior to other electroplating,, hot-dip and Dacromet and can be a new option and powerful protective method for fasteners used in the era of climate change. Sustainable Operation and R&D of Environmental Protection Technology As far as Aegis is concerned, sustainable operation is not merely a slogan in the era of environmental protection. If a screw can last for years without corrosion, it means a lot of steel is saved and the emission of CO 2 is reduced. Coating protection is proven only when a screw is screwed into the material and its coating is not peeled off. Aegis continues to develop and introduce state-of-the-art technology such as chromium-free electroplating & coating and other green technology. Aegis would like to have employees well-trained, offer customers better service, increase the global competitiveness of Taiwanese industry and provide them with the best localized service. The Company Considering Quality, Service, Profession and All Aspects - A Rising Star in Electroplating Z&D PLATING CO., LTD. by Michelle Hsieh, Fastener World Z&D was established in 2002 and has started production since Despite its short history, it is a rising star in the electroplating industry. Initially, president Lin headed over to Vietnam and China for market probe, but as the markets were still immature then, eventually he chose to come back and set up a plant in Taiwan and started to visit clients. In the same year of Z&D s inception, he visited an American surface treatment plant and had a thorough understanding about this field and related environment protective measures. 80%-90% of washers in Taiwan are treated by Z&D, and a lot of products including rivets and nuts are also processed by this company. It has a way in quality control. Finished products will go through salt spray and film thickness test before shipment to ensure stable quality. Z&D offers high quality and highly standard compliant roller galvanization and zinc-nickel alloy plating. Its main clients are domestic automotive fastener companies and traders, and it sells to the whole world. It uses chemical liquids from MacDermid, and collaborates with Japanese chemical liquid providers to provide different liquids depending on clients need. For example, Japanese carmakers such as Mazda, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi prefer Japanese chemical liquids. Nowadays, requirements on surface treatment are becoming stricter, and the level of attention to quality is going higher. Z&D is certified to TS and is one of the few MacDermid-accredited electroplating plant in Taiwan. To cope with the stringent requirements of the automotive industry on coefficient of friction (CoF), last year Z&D spent nearly 240 thousand euros and bought a SCHATZ CoF machine from Germany. It was the first 2000Nm double-head CoF machine in Taiwan s electroplating industry. Its measuring range is M4- M24. The 2,000Nm model has 75rpm and the 500Nm model has 330rpm, and both models are compliant with VDA , ISO16047 and ISO2320 requirements. Small but Complete in Every Detail Unlike average electroplating plants, Z&D is characteristic of its compact and delicate corporate nature and conducts small lot and customized OEM plating, according to president Lin. The company is highly agile in utilizing its labor force. Generally, the lead time of electroplating is between 5 to 10 days. With full dedication and clients trust on Z&D s high quality, Z&D can adjust workforce to meet clients demand in a timely manner despite tighter lead times. Putting Belief into Practice to Build Good Reputation The key to Z&D s success is taking small lot orders. Although Z&D s product cost is higher and naturally the price is more expensive compared to other counterparts, the company earns deep trust from clients by excellent quality and the average monthly rejection rate of less than 1%. Even some old clients who later turned to other competitors for some price reasons turned to Z&D again. The reason is nothing else but Z&D s good quality. There are three pillars to Z&D s corporate belief. The first and foremost is environmental protection. The electroplating industry is highly pollutive. The most important is to handle the problem of waste discharge. The company is strict to itself, not only meeting governmental regulations but also exceeding industrial standards. Its factory excludes the use of hexavalent chromium and does the best to adjust and improve the manufacturing process

5 154 Special Feature to reduce pollution. The second pillar is to continue creating values. The company does not ask for growth by leaps and bounds for the future, but hopes to go firmly and steadily. Last but not least, it is to serve clients and improve client satisfaction. Z&D actively discusses and does researches with clients. Whether they are big or small, Z&D does the best to solve their problems. In the era of intense global competition, it is not easy to sustain a business. However, the company hopes to gradually progress and improve through clients demand. Quality Coating Manufacturer Introduces New Alternative to Hexavalent Dichromate Premium Products, Inc. by Dean Tseng, Fastener World Premium Products, Inc. is a water-based, industrial coatings manufacturer located in IL, USA. Operating since 1988, it has enjoyed a significant tenure in the coatings industry while providing customers with excellent service, competitive prices, and environmentally friendly coatings in high quality. It recognizes that the disciplines of quality, health, safety, and environmental management are an integral part of its management function. The company was started by Phil Dhake who found his passion for creating unique coatings after having worked in the industry where he could refine his knowledge. He realized he could provide customers with environmentally friendly coatings meeting their specific needs. He began marketing his product and the company was born. Since then, it has grown to produce a variety of different coatings using knowledgeable technical experts to create exactly what each customer needs. The company has continued to supply well-known fastener brands with environmentally friendly coatings for over 25 years. The coatings are available worldwide, regularly shipped internationally, and are valuable in several industries, like the gas, oil and drilling, automotive, windmill/energy, and appliance industry, among many others. We supply products to a distributor that sells to customers in Asia. We constantly communicate with them to assist them in supplying each customer with what they need. For customers outside of Asia, we tend to supply them directly. Domestically, our R&D Team will continue to develop new products and improve current ones. We also plan to expand our customer base both domestically and internationally. In the future, we plan to continue supplying

6 the automotive industry as well as others and can increase our capacity if necessary, said Phil. AQUAZINC - Best for Replacing Zinc-plating Premium Products is known for its AQUAZINC coating with similar appearance to zinc plating. Phil explained that AQUAZINC is a replacement for zinc plating because it does not cause hydrogen embrittlement and offers much better performance than zinc plating. It has good adhesion over zinc plating, stainless steel parts, and zinc flake coating. It also offers excellent corrosion resistance as a topcoat over zinc flake coating. Besides AQUAZINC, he added that the highly economical POLYMET is used over zinc flake coating or zinc phosphate with excellent corrosion resistance and kesternich cycle performance. Both AQUAZINC and POLYMET are water based, safe for the environment and people, and cost competitive compared to other well-known products. Its other products include the AQUABLACK line, which is applied over zinc plating and zinc flake coating. AQUABLACK achieves 3,000 hours of corrosion resistance over zinc plating. STAINLESS STEEL PTFE CLEAR is a hybrid polymer with PTFE that improves corrosion and chemical resistance when applied on stainless steel, extends component life, can withstand exposure to harsh chemicals and prevents galling. Kicking off Another Success with the Introduction of POLYGOLD Business was really good for Premium Products last year. It introduced a new product called POLYGOLD that can replace hexavalent dichromate. It is a water based coating similar in appearance to hexavalent dichromate, but provides better performance, and is much safer environmentally. As Phil concluded, We are a manufacturer of quality coatings. We do not concern ourselves with brand names. instead we focus on quality, environmentally safe products, excellent service and competitive price to create an outstanding value for our customers. World-class Highly Anti-corrosive Surface Treatment Expert from Japan Nihon Ruspert Co. Ltd. by Dean Tseng, Fastener World Established in 1968, Nihon Ruspert specializes in anti-rust surface treatment for steel parts. Its main business includes surface treatment service, specialized chemical agent manufacture, giving processing authorization to other surface treatment companies, and selling chemical agents. The main equipment it sells is dip-spin coater. Through its well-acclaimed thin-coat and highly anti-corrosive metal surface treating technology, it processes fasteners for construction, machinery, power generation among other industries. Recently its orders in the new energy (solar/wind) sector are increasing. Its advantage is one-stop surface treatment, ranging from steel surface adjustment to electroplating and even lubrication, for all sorts of metal. It offers various products including galvanization, steel/stainless steel sand blast, anti-rust fastening torque adjustment, and anti-galvaniccorrosion treatment. It has a base in Kyodai Katsura Venture Plasa. CEO Masayuki Tsumura explained, The future development of surface treatment and environment technology cannot lack a high degree of industry-academia collaboration. Utilizing the Plasa, we can witness unfathomable new inspiration from other companies and collaborate with them, cultivating high-value talents and technology. 5 Coating Series on Your Demand Back in the 80 s, composite treatment combining galvanization and coating was favored by European customers suffering from acid rain. Nihon Ruspert s world-class highly anti-corrosive surface treatment is well acclaimed by the construction industry. Particularly Ruspert Series is characterized by the abundance of type tailored to market demand, including the R&D and rollout of Non-chrome Ruspert. For non-galvanization applications, the company developed Disgo Series in the 90 s and entered the zinc flaking territory, even adding the hot- type that became the main product along with Ruspert Series, both applied in civil engineering, electric power, conveyor, etc. Extending zinc flaking technology, Lafre Series suits automotive fasteners stringent with coating thickness. Other series are Nicoa with high corrosive gas resistance and Drall that dries and repairs surface under room temperature. Rooting Across U.S./Europe/Aisa & Eyeing the World Market The CEO said wherever a product needs his surface treatment, that region is his target market. In southeast Asia with increasing fastener production, selling chemical agents is one of our business pillars. In Europe, there s no sign of consumption increase but there are many international corporations based there; therefore the geographic advantage is the ability to get closer to orders, designs and new technologies from the world. Establishing bases in rapidly-growing southeast Asia and immense/mature Europe is very favorable to us. Taiwan and China are important regions as well because most fastener production that adopts surface treatment gathers there. This region has a higher number of authorization and chemical agent sales proportion, and the products are mostly sold to N. America, Europe and Japan. The emerging ASEAN and surging personnel expenses decrease price competitiveness and lower the position of Taiwan and China, but they will remain primary regions of fastener production in the next few years, said the CEO. To the Era of Environmentally-friendly Coating Special Feature Due to market demand and global pollution problems, the world is more stringent about hazardous substance. The regions that cannot easily conduct electroplating due to water discharge regulation will have particularly high demand for zinc flaking, and will switch from solvent to water-based coating. Environmentally-friendly coating in response to the demand of this era is expected to embrace a high demand and won t be subject to the changing world demand and supply balance caused by politics and exchange rate. The company will exhibit Caelar (effluent-free electroplating) and waterbased coatings at IE expo this May. We will make a better, healthier and more natural world a reality by technical innovation of metal surface treatment. Look forward to our new technology for a safe and bright future. 155