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WEST ORANGE, NJ, USA -- Aluminum and zinc-plated metals now have a new ‘friend” in trivalent chromium pre and post treatments, a process that has been exclusively licensed by SurTec International, Zwingenberg, Germany, from the United States Navy for all areas outside of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. This completely new process is now a product that is being marketed by SurTec under the trade name SurTec 650 - ChromitAL TCP. SurTec International also is licensed to market the process in North America. The use of trivalent chromium pre and post treatments will revolutionize several industries that have relied heavily on the traditional use of hexavalent chromium to prevent corrosion and help paint stick to non-adherent metal surfaces. These include the aerospace, automobile, hardware, electrical, telecommunication and construction industries. Hexavalent chromium is known to be highly toxic, carcinogenic, and hazardous to the environment. Its cousin, trivalent chromium, is environmentally benign and a highly effective coating. “The U.S. Navy’s trivalent chromium conversion coating is a good fit with our own proprietary environmentally safe metal finishing technologies and we are excited to bring this innovation to market,” said Nabil Zaki, Director of Worldwide Technical Marketing in SurTec’s New Jersey branch office. SurTec, due to the location of its headquarters and worldwide branch offices, is particularly well suited to commercialize the Navy’s trivalent chromium conversion coating on a global basis. Years of research and development at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) in Patuxent River, Maryland, resulted in the issuance of a suite of patents generally referred to as trivalent chromium pretreatment and post treatments (TCP). A surface treatment is required to improve the corrosion resistance and bonding of paints to aluminum alloys, anodized aluminum, and sacrificial coatings. A class of chemicals called conversion coatings is used for this purpose. For over 50 years, the standard treatment for military and industry has been hexavalent chromium, the highly toxic cousin of TCP. There are many additional benefits to TCP. It is the only non-hexavalent chromium conversion coating that will fully meet all of the strict U.S. military specifications for pre and post treatment of aluminum. It also is a more environmentally benign coating, such as those required for unpainted surfaces, without sacrificing corrosion resistance or other performance standards. An additional benefit is its improved electrical conductivity that makes it ideal for the electronics and telecommunications industries. These industries must meet the worldwide Restriction of Hazardous Substances/Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS/WEEE) directives by 2006. This process is already being used to meet the requirements of these directives. The TechLink center, a U.S. Department of Defense technology transfer agent, assisted SurTec and the Navy in the process of licensing TCP for both the North American and international markets. Within the industries that will benefit from the use of TCP are metal products such as window frames, swimming pools, aircraft, wheels, bicycles, and fasteners.
CONTACTS: Nabil Zaki, Director - Worldwide Technical Marketing SurTec International (973) 243-1773 NZ@SurTec.com www.surtec.com David Weston
TechLink
(406) 994-7477
dweston@montana.edu
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