Whatever the reason for making the switch to a new coating technology or formulation - better corrosion performance, novel finishes, new colors and more efficient application - it is not a decision that manufacturers and coaters make lightly. Trialing new protective solutions and formulations requires an investment of time, money and resources for both the manufacturer and the coatings maker.
Reducing time, waste and costs with PPG's SECURE LAUNCH EXCELLENCE program
Over a decade ago, PPG launched the SECURE LAUNCH EXCELLENCE ™ program to accelerate the development of new coatings colors and formulations and transition them into customer manufacturing processes as quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. The program is unique in the coatings industry: it successfully reduces time, waste and costs associated with multiple trials and ensures that new coatings work on production lines the first time it is applied to a part, meeting the customers’ specific color, finish, application and environmental requirements.
"Secure Launch Excellence is really a risk management program for both the manufacturer and us as coatings provider," said Ian Holodnak, PPG technical representative expert and manager of the Secure Launch Excellence program for Industrial Coatings. "In this industry, you rarely get a second chance if a trial fails so we've developed a program that is precise and eliminates any unknowns.".
Martin Kunder, a technical service manager for PPG, adds that a number of customers have abandoned their own risk management process in favor of PPG's since it is so rigorous.
Who Utilizes the Program
The Secure Launch Excellence program is available to new and existing customers across a wide span of industries - consumer electronics, automotive, general finishing, transportation and heavy-duty equipment, among others - and in PPG's full range of coatings technologies, including pretreatment, electrocoat, liquid and powder coatings.
"The four-phase program is very precise and gives customers peace of mind in knowing that our product is going to work as promised on their lines and we can show them in the most efficient, least disruptive way possible," said Greg Terry, PPG director for coil, extrusion and OEM sales for Industrial Coatings, who was involved in developing the program.
Phase 1 Documenting customer requirements
In Phase I, the primary function is to gather and document information. Through face-to-face meetings with product designers, manufacturing engineers and other stakeholders, we seek to address every aspect of the prototype coating, from related environmental regulations to finished color, performance and quality expectations. We also conduct an extensive in-plant audit of the company’s painting and manufacturing processes to gain a thorough understanding of the production line, from equipment conditions and oven cure profiles to process controls for color variation, coating thickness, environmental emissions, defects and other critical benchmarks.
Phase 2 Product development and application validation
Once an initial color match is generated, PPG uses sophisticated statistical analysis to continually test and refine the prototype coating until it meets the appearance, performance and manufacturing specifications established in Phase I.
"We literally recreate every single element in a customer's coating line at one of our plants in Strongsville, Ohio, or Oak Creek, Wisconsin, including the guns, the nozzles, the flow, every single element of the customer's coating line is duplicated," said William Springer, PPG technical service manager, Industrial Coatings, who is responsible for the Secure Launch in-service team.
For instance, PPG may test a series of resins and pigments in a coating formulation, based on their cost or availability, to assess their compatibility or their impact on color, sprayability or adherence to the sample substrate.
Because this analysis is rigorous and data-driven, it enables PPG to quickly make adjustments to the developmental coating, reducing the time it takes to move from initial formulation to a trial coating that can be tested on an actual production line.
Phase 3 Production trial planning and execution
This phase begins with a planning meeting among the customer's engineering, manufacturing and product development personnel and the PPG’s Secure Launch Excellence team. Together, they define the trial process and establish upper and lower performance limits for variables such as color consistency, film thickness, viscosity and other strictly defined parameters.
The prototype coating is then applied to parts on the customer's production line and data is measured against metrics established in the planning meeting. If the coating fails at any point in this assessment process, PPG's Secure Launch Excellence team immediately addresses the issue to resume the trial as quickly as possible.
"We don’t look at the trial as a test," stated Martin. "At that stage there is no guesswork involved on what the product is going to do on their line. We do all the upfront work and dial it in when we go online. In the end, the product does exactly what the customer wants it to do.".
Phase 4 Product commercialization and production review
The final step is mass production of the coating and full-scale application in the customer’s coating operation. Once the new coating is successfully integrated, both teams collaborate to implement a process of continuous product improvement that is focused on preventing problems, enhancing coating quality and advancing the reliability and cost-efficiency of the coating application.
"This systematic approach through every phase is a comprehensive approach involving teams from sales, technical, production and even raw material suppliers. We cover all the bases by involving every level of the organization," Ian explained.
Secure Launch Excellence Success
Since its inception, the program has been a success story for PPG and its customers.
Each year, on average, 50-60 companies utilize the Secure Launch Excellence program with a significant majority of them moving forward with the PPG solution after completion.
"Because we've done the extensive legwork, we know the trial is going to be successful. In this business there are very few second chances. Through the Secure Launch Excellence program, we don’t need them," says Martin.