Our company was founded 45 years ago by two talented chemists dedicated to the principles of Simplifying Surface Finishing™. They focused their research on developing products that were easy to use, provided superior results and most importantly, solved plating problems. We continue that legacy of Simplifying Surface Finishing™ today and we have built upon it by earning a solid reputation for providing a depth of technical expertise and consistent support that makes a difference for our customers. Your success is our success and the entire Columbia Chemical team is focused on offering the very best in products, service and support to make your job easier. Click here to watch the video.
PRODUCT SHOWCASE: ANTI-STAIN
In keeping with our focus on Simplifying Surface Finishing™ and solving plating problems, the warmer summer months are the perfect time to highlight our humble yet effective Columbia
ANTI-STAIN additive.
For acid zinc platers, the hot and humid summer months can bring rinsability issues to the forefront in the form of staining. As the humidity in the air increases, it can attract the salts from the bath on a poorly rinsed part and form its own corrosion issues. This will appear as a white corrosion occurring randomly on the deposit surface and can occur within hours to days after plating. This issue can happen with either rack or barrel plating but tends to be more common in barrel plating.
Columbia's R&D Department developed an additive years ago to address this issue and eliminate staining: Columbia ANTI-STAIN. This concentrated additive contains special anti-staining ingredients and allows for better rinsability. Many of our acid zinc platers order it each year to keep the issue in check as the humidity climbs.
Having trouble with staining issues in your acid zinc process? We can run a simple analytical test with a bath sample to immediately determine if ANTI-STAIN will solve your problem. Contact your Columbia Chemical Technical Specialist for assistance or submit your information to [email protected]
COLUMBIA CHEMICAL RECEIVES GENERAL MOTORS' DECORATIVE PLATING COLOR APPROVAL
Columbia Chemical is pleased to announce the color approval of our TriCOL® Trivalent Chromium Plating Process.
Color style approval was granted for TriCOL Décor (white) to meet General Motors Color Master 495Y and TriCOL Blackjack to meet GM Color Master 024M. The GMW 14668 Code B Type 4 specification covers the minimum performance requirements for decorative chromium plated plastic for exterior applications, high corrosion calcium chloride resistant chromium.
Being well represented on material source lists means Columbia Chemical's automotive customers have a trusted chemistry supplier source to finish the components they plate for the auto industry.
Columbia Chemical is widely known for our expertise in Decorative Trivalent Chromium Plating and is pleased to add these significant decorative plating approvals from General Motors to our well-established global list of OEM approvals.
As part of a commitment to the OEMs, Columbia Chemical has developed a tiered quality assurance audit process known as the C.A.R (Columbia Approved Resource) program. C.A.R approved applicators are audited regularly to ensure they are meeting key components of the OEM specifications to help ensure quality and peace of mind for the OEMs. The designation of a CAR approval reflects a dedication to high quality and constant improvement.
RECOGNIZING OUR GLOBAL PARTNERS
Italy's Tecnochimica Targets Decorative Plating Market with TriCOL Decor®
Columbia Chemical is proud to have many longtime partners and distributors around the globe. One such group is Tecnochimica S.p.A in Italy. Based in San Giuliano Milan, Tecnochimica has 30 years in the development and sale of specialty products to the electroplating industry and has built a solid reputation for technical expertise.
The relationship with Columbia was originally formed when Techno was a long time purchaser of our acid tin. In 2008, the relationship expanded and Tecno became an exclusive distributor of Columbia Chemical products in Italy. They began selling additional product lines and quickly grew their footprint in the alkaline zinc market. From there, they began offering Columbia's line of trivalent passivates to their customer base and even secured an approval for Spectramate 25 and Zinc-Chro-SHIELD with Italian based OEM Alfagomma.
Today, Tecno remains the only distributor for Columbia Chemical in Italy and they have set their eyes on their next growth target: decorative trivalent chromium plating. Sound business acumen has allowed them to identify the growth potential in the market due to evolving regulations. Combined with their excellent technical sales and service, Tecno will be able to tap into Columbia Chemical's widely-known trivalent chromium plating expertise and leverage the proven TriCOL technology to successfully expand into the decorative market in Italy.
Congratulations to the entire Tecnochimica team on your recent expansion!
In January of 2020, the Technochimica team moved into their brand new headquarters featuring 2,500 square meters of warehouse and office space and approximately 2,500 square meters of laboratories and production area. Customers will reap the benefits of their enhanced laboratory testing and service capabilities and expanded production and warehouse. Congratulazioni!
TECH FEATURE: Salt Spray Testing
Alkaline Cyanide Free Zinc vs. Acid Chloride Zinc
It has long been observed in many instances that acid chloride zinc provides better corrosion protection than alkaline cyanide-free zinc when passivated with any of the new high-performance trivalent passivates. What may not be as widely recognized, however, is that the corrosion characteristics of COLZINC
® ACF-II Alkaline Cyanide-Free Brightener replicate those of acid chloride zinc, due to its unique zinc deposit structure.
The History
The difference in corrosion protection was most evident in the early and mid-2000's, when the End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) started ramping up and zinc platers transitioned toward trivalent (hex-free) passivates and away from hazardous hexavalent chromates. With the onslaught of new automotive specifications and the requirement for trivalent passivated parts to be Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) tested, salt spray testing results and all the subsequent data became highly scrutinized.
Read More...
Columbia Chemical Corporation
330-225-3200
Delivering superior plating solutions and the highest level of expertise to our customers through our Finisher's Advantage program.
