Old Friends New Processes
Reprinted with permission from North Easton Machine's excellent "Turning Times" newsletter. Old friend and company president Jon Holbrook and I collaborated on bringing new ideas and technology to another old friend… Do you collaborate with your suppliers and friends? Want to? It's a great way to showcase your company and your ability to bring solutions and technology to your customers. Give it a try! And if you do… Call me!
From North Easton Machine's Turning Times
Recently, I partnered with plating expert Marko Duffy, to visit a local manufacturer of custom electronic equipment. While the Business Development Manager there was an old friend of us both, we were there to discuss new business and the latest developments in machining and plating. This combination of old and new, if you will, was brought together to help a New England OEM evolve their military, aerospace and commercial product line.
Many advances in machining and plating have been slow to be embraced by military and aerospace end users.
With older parts still in production, new ideas and technology can be slow to develop, especially if these older products are still the bulk of your business. So if your customer base is still heavily reliant on the processes and products you’ve been making for years, how do you continue to advance, or even see the need to advance, if you’re busy doing what you’ve always done? Change can be hard and the marketplace can pass you by. As an OEM, this is where your suppliers can help you and your team learn and get a better understanding of opportunities and developments you can use to grow your company.
Marko Duffy, owner of Marathon Manufacturing Solutions, represents a world- wide supplier of metal finishing processes in New England. He knows that many OEMs and machine shops see plating as a challenge and perhaps even a “black hole”. Parts are made to print, sent off to a finishing house, most often they return, are accepted and shipped. Occasionally a new specification, or worse a really old specification, gives pause as we ask “who, what, when, where, why and how” are we going to get this done? That is where they often turn to Marko for suggestions on suppliers, tolerances and a heads up on potential challenges. Part of the purpose of our customer visit was around the old standard plating finish of cadmium with an olive drab chromate coating, a plating staple used for the last fifty years that is still the go-to finish for a family of military products. The best practice of decades ago still provides the corrosion resistance and durability that the military needs but, is an environmental nightmare for platers with only a few still offer the process. Limited vendor choices, asking suppliers to maintain nasty old finishing processes and shipping cadmium and hex chrome plated parts around the world doesn’t fit with the cleaner, greener and more modern customers we are all looking to serve..
There's a new Black Electroless Nickel and it works!
With Marko’s help, North Easton Machine was able to discuss an advancement in plating technology that is being incorporated in North America, and around the world, which is RoHS compliant and accepted by automotive and aerospace suppliers. Black Electro-less Nickel has been developed and is often accepted where the cadmium and olive drab was once the only choice. Marko helped bring new world wide technology to Jon at North Easton and together they brought sample parts and a discussion about this valuable advancement to our OEM customer. This is just one example of the talented team at North Easton partnering with an expert supplier to help you offer more to your valued customers.
The next time you get an opportunity that makes you shake your head, asking the "who, what, when, where, why and how" you can get this done, don’t put it in the pile of things you’ll get to later (maybe), call us! If we don’t know we may know who does. Let’s meet find new ways to grow our companies together.
Even old friends can learn new tricks!
Note: The new process we brought to the table was MacDermid Enthone's Eclipse Black Electroless Nickel. Long a struggle to find a true black nickel, there is new technology that works! Want more info? Contact me!
And… I'm always happy to discuss opportunities for collaboration or a technology update. Here to help!