Henkel TRACK-Site Solutions Reduce Complexity, Cost In Coatings Process

Madison Heights, MI - Henkel recently announced the launch of TRACK-Site Solutions -- a comprehensive offering of innovations that eliminates several manufacturing steps and reduces complexity in the coatings process. Transportation Resources And Coating Knowledge (TRACK)-Site Solutions combines the resources of Autophoretic(R) Coating Chemicals (ACC(R)) and the Henkel Integrator Group (HIG). This combination boosts efficiency to reduce manufacturing costs by up to 10 percent and eliminate nearly 45 percent of handling steps, all while providing more durable, environmentally sound coatings solutions.

"TRACK-Site Solutions provide a whole systems approach to remove variability and inefficiencies from the coatings portion of the manufacturing process," said Henkel Business Director, Organic Coatings and Integrated Services, Kevin Woock. "Leveraging ACC(R) products with HIG engineering and material handling knowledge generates the best coating option and ensures the part or system is as close to 'ready-to-install' condition as possible."

However, before the right coating option can be determined, several issues must be addressed. Single parts undergoing a traditional industrial coating process must be handled nearly a dozen times. They also require packaging four times in different containers during the process and are transported several times between the coater and manufacturer. These extra steps not only add time and costs, but also increase the chance for errors.

TRACK-Site Solutions meet this challenge by potentially eliminating nearly 45 percent of the handling steps throughout the whole manufacturing process, while cutting the number of transportation links, and reducing the amount of packaging containers.

How TRACK-Site Solutions streamline manufacturing processes:

Employing Henkel's family of ACC(R) coatings, the process requires little or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reducing waste treatment steps and costs. ACC(R) products also have viscosity similar to water, allowing them to wet even the most complex shapes. This unique set of application properties enables more parts to be packed into fewer racks at angles that are easier to handle for final assemblers, which further improves efficiency.

Building on ACC(R) product benefits, HIG designs packaging to enable parts to be assembled, coated and shipped to the final destination in one container, saving labor costs, reducing transportation steps and cutting manufacturing cycle time.

TRACK-Site Solutions combine these functional advantages of ACC(R) and the use of a common shipping container feature -- collapsible dunnage -- to create the opportunity for combined coating and shipping of containers. The use of common coating/shipping racks reduces the number of racks and shipping containers required. And because such an efficient material handling/container system can be broken down into a compact unit, two to three times more containers can be shipped from the final part destination back to the start of the process, delivering additional cost savings.

"In addition to reducing handling steps, complexity and cycle times, TRACK-Site Solutions lower scrap and reworking expenses," said Woock. "Plus TRACK-Site Solutions are compatible with existing ACC(R) coatings equipment, so customers benefit immediately from increased productivity for a minimal cost. The right amount of planning and joint process development with Henkel will help any component manufacturer create permanent cost reductions and, in many cases, meet the most stringent requirements for return on investment."

SOURCE: Henkel