Decorative Plating Success in Italy
Galvanica Riva is a custom plating shop in Solaro, Italy, and a customer of Columbia Chemical’s global plating partner Tecnochimica. The company has been in business since 1962 and specializes in galvanizing, chrome, and nickel plating. They have three automatic lines with a programmable controller inside their fully automated frame warehouse, with a daily production of approximately 150,000 chromed pieces per day working on several shifts. They have a variety of high-quality analytical controls in place to meet their exceptional quality standards and deliver superior results to their customers. They are dedicated to environmental stewardship and are one of the few companies running a “closed” galvanic processing cycle, using an evaporator to distill and reuse their production cycle water.
With a dedication to quality and “green” processes, it is no surprise that Galvanica Riva was interested in working with Tecnochimica to trial Columbia Chemical’s TriCOL® Reclaim, an innovative new decorative trivalent plating technology.
Tecnochimica’s Technical Services Director Emanuelle Grillo led the conversion along with support from Columbia Chemical’s home office team. Within two short weeks of trialing the process, Galvanica Riva was extremely pleased with the results and gave the go-ahead to put it into full production.
The switch to Columbia Chemical’s TriCOL Reclaim® Trivalent Chromium Plating process has been a game changer for Galvanica Riva. Pictured here, they were having struggles with nickel show, consistency and throwing power of their previous chemistry, leading to higher rejects. TriCOL Reclaim has eliminated those problems and thanks to the performance of the process, their rejects have dropped substantially and the end results easily meet their high-quality standards. The team is so pleased, they are putting the process in all of their lines. Great job to our partner Tecnochimica and the Galvanica Riva team for their success! Additional operational and performance details on this breakthrough TriCOL Reclaim® process can be found in the article below.
Showcase: TriCOL Reclaim®
The cost difference between decorative hexavalent and trivalent chrome plating has always been a stumbling block for plating shops wanting to make the switch. For Columbia Chemical, this was a motivating factor behind the launch of TriCOL® Reclaim, an innovative new decorative trivalent plating technology. The development of the process was rooted in overcoming a common technical problem with reclaim systems: the buildup of the counterions within traditional systems has always limited reclamation. TriCOL® Reclaim overcomes this challenge by featuring a unique formulation that prevents the buildup of counterions. Specific gravity does not increase over time, so the process allows for total reclamation. This means a cost savings benefit of 40-60%, which translates to decorative trivalent plating costs that are comparable to hex chrome. Beyond that, customers appreciate the benefit of simplified replenishment with the use of a single liquid additive featuring pre-complexed chromium. This means no more heating to complex the chrome and the convenience of using an auto-feeder, saving time and labor. Employee safety is improved with no more messy powder or chrome dust exposure. Perhaps the most significant benefits reported are in performance and appearance. Third-party testing data by a Tier 1 OEM supplier reveals TriCOL® Reclaim significantly outperformed two popular traditional systems with CASS at 60 hours, High Chloride Corrosion at 200+ hours, NO post dip needed, 1000+ hours NSS, fretting abrasion at 5,000 strokes, and L values in the 80’s.
Columbia Chemical will be showcasing its innovative TriCOL Reclaim® process at booth 720 at Sur/Fin. If you are interested in joining in on implementing this breakthrough process at your facility, contact us today.
Join us at Sur/Fin 2022
Columbia Chemical is proud to be presenting two technical education sessions at this year's Sur/Fin conference in Rosemont, Illinois. In addition, we will be exhibiting at Booth #720 where our team of product and technical specialists will be on hand to troubleshoot your top challenges, showcase samples of our superior finishes, and talk about the latest additions to our extensive product line. Click here and use code EXH720 to register and receive FREE admission to the Sur/Fin show floor!

DECORATIVE PLATING: IDENTIFYING TESTING STANDARDS FOR ‎TRIVALENT CHROME THICKNESS
Session 4: Advances in Automotive Finishing
Presenter: Mark Schario, CEF, Executive Vice President
  • Tuesday, June 7
  • Session Time: 2:00 - 2:30 P.M
ENHANCING CORROSION PROTECTION WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CLEAR CR (III) PASSIVATE FOR ALUMINUM ALLOYS
Session 12: Advances in Surface Finishing
Presenter: Jacob Weingart, PhD, Research Chemist
  • Wednesday, June 8
  • Session Time: 4:30 - 5:00 P.M
Tech Feature: Benefits of Acid Zinc Nickel
Stephen Roberts of Columbia Chemical provides an overview of the evolution of Zinc Nickel and discusses the benefits of adding acid zinc-nickel capabilities to a plating shop. Read his article below.

Q. We have customers asking if we offer acid zinc-nickel. We are looking to expand our services into zinc-nickel, and we are considering this, but it seems most of the market is alkaline zinc-nickel. Is there a reason for this and is there market enough for us to expand into acid zinc-nickel?

This is a good question to ask as you consider expanding your services to include zinc-nickel. Driven in part by the lengthening of automotive warranties, the zinc-nickel market has more than quadrupled in the past five years as the demand for enhanced corrosion protection has grown. As you point out, alkaline zinc-nickel makes up a large share, approximately 85%, of total zinc-nickel usage in the market. However, the percentage of the market that is acid zinc-nickel has doubled in (read more...)
NEW! Website Updates
Columbia Chemical's popular website has recently received some added resources and enhancements to capture . To assist in searching for OEM and Tier One process approvals for our chemistry, a brand-new interactive search table has been added. Several product categories and pages have been added for our new Aluminum Pretreatment line, expansions to our acid pickling line as well as our cleaners, and new Metal Strippers. Our custom Toll Blending Services have now been given their own section. To address the growth of the Zinc-Nickel market, a new Zinc Nickel Resources page has been added as well as a Fastener Information page - both can be found under the Technical Resources category. Finally, an educational and promotional video library page has been added as well as a page to house our on-demand webinars. 
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