April 2010

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Finisher's
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A Real Cat Fight …

Tim Pennington, Editor
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Ready for a big Cat fight? As in Caterpillar Inc., which is thinking seriously about bringing jobs back to the U.S. from overseas in an attempt to … get this … save money! The Wall Street Journal reported in a recent edition about a trend many in the manufacturing industries have been seeing for some time: reshoring, or bringing jobs back to the U.S., which could spark intense competition from states starving for new jobs and looking to replenish its manufacturing core.

The reasons for reshoring are many and obvious: Shipping from overseas is tough in a JIT environment that so many manufacturers need and demand; better communication with R&D departments and production lines; and a lack of quality and consistency from overseas operations. Read More


	UESTION What do you think? Are companies ready to reshore work back to the U.S., or do you think they’ll keep offshoring work to China, South Korea, et al? Talk to us! Click here to respond.

A Major “Knowledge Event”
The New Process Cleaning Expo Features a Content-Rich Technical Conference
Taking place May 4-6 in Louisville, KY, the Process Cleaning Expo (PCx) is a new trade show that aims to educate the manufacturing community about the benefits of implementing a proper cleaning process. Along with the exhibition, the show includes a technical conference with an outstanding lineup of keynote speakers and technical sessions. Learn more about the conference, and don’t forget to make hotel and travel arrangements.

	Brought to you by:
Feature Article — Productive Plastic Painting Continental Structural Plastics is North America’s largest producer of sheet molding compound and glass-mat thermoplastic composite parts for the automotive, heavy truck and other industries. Read about how upgrades improve paint system flexibility and application characteristics. Read more here. Painting Clinic — Stripping Paint from Plastics Can you use a paint stripper on plastic? If so, what kind of paint stripper is recommended? Expert Carl Izzo answers here.
	Brought to you by:
Feature Article — Getting Better All the Time As we look at what’s coming up in zinc plating, we examine some technology advancements either just released to the market or currently under development at our company. Consider these forward-thinking strategies an effort to sail smoothly through any “future shock.” Read more here. Plating Clinic — Nickel Plating Problem What to do when you have six Watts nickel plating tanks, all of which are giving brittle, hard deposits, and you have been able to partially solve this problem by diluting the baths 30% by volume. What can you do to solve it on a more permanent basis? Find out here.
	Brought to you by:
Feature Article — The Right Stuff Read everything you need to know about getting the ideal powder finish for your parts here. Powder Coating Clinic — Masking Plugs: Cost Effective? Are there any other alternatives to masking the threads with plugs that would be less costly? Find out here.

Current Issue

Events
Click here for the Events Calendar

NASF Washington Forum
April 27-29, 2010

Process Cleaning Expo
May 4-6, 2010

Ecoat 2010
May 4-6, 2010

Sur/Fin 2010
June 15-16, 2010

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New Products

Pocket-Sized Coating Measurement
ElektroPhysik’s MiniTest 70 series pocket size coating thickness measure-ment gauge with SIDSP uses 32-bit-signal processing technology.
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Full Service Wastewater Treatment
Columbia Chemical’s new Coltreat line of wastewater treatment solutions for the metal finishing industry features coagulants, flocculants, metal precipitants and defoamers designed to minimize sludge volume while meeting specified discharge requirements.
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Air Filter
The high performance mechanical air filter media, the Multi-Pleat Elite, from Koch Filter is self-supporting, meaning it doesn’t require a metal support grid downstream.
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