The Science Lab
Beat the Heat – Upgrade Your Corrosion Protection
As summer is rapidly approaching, this means warmer weather, humidity, and corrosion. Corrosion can cause issues during your regular operation and unexpectedly cause problems down the line. Summer months are often characterized by higher humidity levels, hotter weather, and in some areas, more rain. Traditionally a corrosion protection product is applied post-cleaning, but one of the best ways to help avoid corrosion is using combination products that clean and protects.
Humidity can increase the probability of corrosion by creating a more conducive environment for chemical reactions that lead to the breakdown of metals. Moisture in the air can penetrate the metal surface, forming rust or other signs of corrosion. Long-lasting corrosion protection is defined as more than 90 days in an un-air-conditioned warehouse. This is a daunting task to many manufacturers as time and heat typically work against them. Luckily, KYZEN offers a full range of solutions that serve as combination products. These are products that are used in every stage of your parts washer providing clean parts and long-term protection. METALNOX M6314CP is one of those products and is safe for all metals with protection built in. METALNOX M6324CP is another great option that removes even the toughest carbon smut and can help provide long-term protection for up to 90 days. Combination products like the ones above help streamline processes and keep your parts protected.
Depending on what type of metal you are looking to protect will ultimately determine what product would be best for your process. Whether it is steel, aluminum, or brass and copper, KYZEN cleaning experts will work with you to determine the best possible solution to keep your parts protected during the summer months. Having a well-defined cleaning and protection process helps extend the lifespan of metal parts, avoids unwanted downtime, and helps with the functionality of your parts during the summer months and beyond!
If you want to learn more about how you can get the most out of your metal parts cleaning and protect them against corrosion in the coming months, reach out to a KYZEN cleaning expert today! Click HERE for more in-depth insight about corrosion protection.
“Forever Chemicals” May Not Last in Vapor Degreasing. So, What’s Next?
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, have long been utilized in goods ranging from household staples like dental floss and shampoo to more demanding uses in paints, stain resistance products, and cleaners.
PFAS are known for their durability, chemical stability, heat resistance and ability to repel water but, per the CDC, these “Forever Chemicals” are proving dangerous on multiple fronts and a substandard environmentally friendly answer to vapor degreasing needs.
What gives PFAS their “forever” qualities? It isn’t that they are one, single chemical but a large group of organofluorine compounds held together in a Carbon-Fluorine bond, the strongest in organic chemistry. This strength gives them stability, which allows them to last but also ensures their longevity as a potential hazard. This produces a challenge despite their use in materials for critical applications in medical devices, semiconductors, by the military and the aerospace industry.
PFAS have also been discovered everywhere from soils to ground and drinking water in addition to fish and wildlife populations. While there remains uncertainty as to the low-level environmental effects on humans, lab studies on animals indicate that PFAS may impact growth and development, reproduction, thyroid function, immune health, and injure the liver.
As a result, the EPA has proposed TSCA Section 8(a)(7), the implementation of reporting and recordkeeping requirements for entities who have or continue to produce PFAS since January 1, 2011. In Europe, five countries have submitted proposals to the ECHA to consider a restriction on PFAS.
In late-2022, 3M announced they will discontinue use of PFAS across the company’s product portfolio by the end of 2025. Considering these industry changes, three avenues are poised to take the place of PFAS (HFE/HFC) degreasing: HFO solvents, Vacuum Vapor Degreasing (VVD), and Aqueous cleaning.
Among these alternatives, HFOs, including KYZEN METALNOX M6920 are poised to become the latest in Greener solvent options to replace PFAS. M6920 is compatible with a variety of metal parts including stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and titanium. Additionally, M6920’s atmospheric life of approximately 27 days, VOC exemption, and recyclability, among other factors make it an ideal replacement to PFAS “Forever Chemicals.”
Click here to check out our Tech2Tech on this top and learn more about PFAS, vapor degreasing and future alternatives from KYZEN!
David McWright- Assistant Operations Manager/Buyer
David McWright is KYZEN’s Assistant Operations Manager/Buyer. He has been with KYZEN for almost 23 years and has been grateful for every minute of it. David, also known as “Big Mac,” has also been living in Kingston Springs, TN, for the past 23 years but was born and raised in West Nashville, TN. He prides himself on his honesty, integrity, strong work ethic, and common sense when it comes to his work.
David has been married to his wife Sandra for almost 32 years and has two sons Andrew and Aaron along with a daughter-in-law named Candice. He spoils his first granddaughter Harley Jo and has another on the way who he guesses will be named Skylar Jane! Two additional members of his family include his beloved dog Journey and his grand dog, Myles.
David’s favorite hobbies include pontoon boating, camping, fishing, collecting rocks and old coins, and watching football/NASCAR/or anything sports related. Despite his hair beginning to whiten at the age of 19, his years spent with KYZEN surprisingly haven’t led him to lose any. From China to Israel, David also serves as one of the main faces that we use in graphics for literature and show material. David is an integral part of the KYZEN team, and his depth of knowledge makes him a valuable asset for any questions you might have.
Don’t hesitate to contact David with any questions that you may have.
LeAnne Langston – Global Logistics Manager
LeAnne Langston serves as KYZEN’s Global Logistics Manager. She is a Nashville native through and through having been born and raised in the Music City. LeAnne began her KYZEN journey nine years ago after spending the previous 20 years in Freight Forwarding with DHL. When she discovered KYZEN was seeking a new, caring team member to join our logistics team she found what she calls “a great fit.”
As if the job of managing KYZEN logistical operations isn’t enough, she has a full life at home as well. Her favorite hobbies away from work include gardening and cooking. She has been married for 17 years, has two daughters, one bonus son, a special daughter-in-law and eight grandchildren. Her four-legged family is just as large with her dog Jax, cat Oliver and four grand-dogs. When the whole family gathers, she assures, it is total craziness though, hopefully, relaxing when compared to the stellar but all-encompassing work she does for KYZEN. LeAnne serves as one of the true movers (literally, in the sense of logistics) and shakers among our KYZEN team!
Don’t hesitate to contact LeAnne with any questions you might have!
KYZEN Cares in the Community
One of the main pillars that KYZEN was founded on and continues to promote is CARE. Care is the dedication that goes beyond just doing our jobs well. We pride ourselves on the fact that care follows our employees in whatever task or action they are doing. Care isn’t confined by the walls of KYZEN either…our employees are making a difference in and out of the office. We are excited to shine a light on the amazing work some of them are doing whether they are coaching sports, participating in community projects, responding to a natural disaster, or volunteering in associations across our industry.
Wayne Raney is a member and serves as Treasurer of SME43, one of the associations that KYZEN partners with to promote growth within the manufacturing industry. He enjoys getting to interact with various schools and students exploring potential career paths and connecting with manufacturing professionals. Through event sponsorship, school programming, plant tours, scholarships, and even student chapters, Wayne and SME43 have been able to make a difference in the community, and it shows. We can’t wait to see how this organization grows and expands.
This team member is participating in life-saving volunteer work for some of our most beloved team members: our fluffy four-legged friends. LeAnne Langston makes a difference by volunteering her time and energy to help recuse and transport animals all over the country. Typically, these transports consist of 3-day trips and hundreds of miles to receive an animal and get it safely to the next location. This is only possible because various strangers all over the country have a heart filled with compassion and love and want to help. LeAnne loves to help with Echo Dogs White Shepherd Rescue.
Another team member who is crushing it professionally and personally when it comes to volunteering is our Global Marketing Manager, Sherry Stepp. Sherry actively serves on various committees and associations within the manufacturing space and is currently the VP of membership for her local SMTA chapter. In her spare time, she also plays an active role in her community by volunteering at her church, participating in community clean-up days, and so much more. Sherry describes it best: “Working at KYZEN has not only allowed me to be there for my children as they grew up and now my grandchildren but to give back to the community and the industry with their support and encouragement.” We love hearing these stories from employees and they continue to inspire CARE both at work and at home.
All of these stories are just some of the ways KYZEN employees are making a difference. We already knew they were awesome at the office, but having employees that are actively contributing to making the communities we live in a better place is something that we will never stop pursuing. KYZEN’s CARE is an aspect that will never be overlooked. Whether in our work or in other ways, we will always foster an environment that promotes the betterment of ourselves, our work, and our standards in the cleaning industry
KYZEN Quality – Priority One Since Day One
KYZEN has prioritized quality since its first days more than thirty years ago. Whether it was establishing a “quality shop” standard, providing quality testing or ensuring the company produced quality products, several instances resound as touchstones in the timeline of KYZEN’s prevailing attitude toward quality.
In the early 1990s, as KYZEN was gaining it’s footing as a company, NASA provided a a starting block for KYZEN to fully test their capabilities in quality but also improve them. Few young companies in any sector are provided the opportunity to work with the country’s authority on aeronautics, space research, and space flights. KYZEN not only won NASA’s business with quality procedures but took the recommendations provided by NASA inspectors to improve them.
“The reason I remember that day so clearly all these years later, is because we chose to accept the challenge. We decided that we had a lot to learn from the best in the world, and they were eager to be our teachers,” recalled Tom Forsythe, KYZEN Executive VP, in his 2021 article “Quality: A Prevailing Attitude.”
While a name like NASA provides an excellent starting block in building a reputation of quality, KYZEN has never limited its services or products to companies of any size in a variety of industries in need of cleaning solutions.
From the reaches of human space exploration to within the human body, in 2019, a medical implant manufacturer sought the assistance of KYZEN’S cleaning expertise. They required a new process for cleaning and removing a heavy buffing compound used in the production of knee implants primarily made of cobalt, chrome, and titanium. KYZEN quality prevailed again with the power of METALNOX M6432 and years of quality cleaning experience.
“Now rocket scientists are pretty smart people, yet even those talented people need sector expertise that a cleaning expert like KYZEN can provide. There are people that make medical devices and implants. They are often related to those rocket scientist folks ‑‑ really smart, but they too need the deep expertise about cleaning that KYZEN can provide,” Forsythe explained in 2020 in “Regular People Everyday Businesses Doing Their Part.”
Those years of expertise, whether assisting rocketeers or medical miracle workers, are propelling KYZEN forward and helping us take the driver’s seat of quality cleaning into both the Metal Finishing and Electronics Assembly sides in the world of Electric Vehicle manufacturing. In a recent case study, KYZEN worked collaboratively with a contract manufacturer for an EV producer to improve the quality of their multi-metal parts cleaning process and boost that process using METALNOX M6314CP.
Be it in outer space, on the open road, or with implants used to replace human joints and change patient’s lives, quality is priority one for KYZEN and the standard across more than 30 years connecting our care for customers and their needs.
To connect with KYZEN and learn more about how we can make your quality our priority, click here to contact us today!
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