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Corrosion specifications don’t have to slow your shop down or put jobs at risk. With the right understanding and the right support, they become another manageable part of your finishing process. Our goal is to help you build a process that reliably meets corrosion requirements while avoiding unnecessary steps or excessive costs.
Here’s how we support our customers:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Spec interpretation support to help identify what a corrosion requirement is truly asking for and how it impacts your process</li>
<li aria-level="1">Pretreatment and cleaning guidance to ensure the surface prep supports the required level of corrosion resistance</li>
<li aria-level="1">Chemistry selection tailored to spec, so your system is designed for performance, not overprocessing</li>
<li aria-level="1">Process consistency support to help ensure repeatable results across different parts and production runs</li>
<li aria-level="1">Operator training and troubleshooting when test results don’t line up with expectations</li>
</ul>
Americo works with job shops to ensure consistent corrosion performance, so you can focus on delivering quality parts, meeting customer expectations, and keeping production moving.

How Americo Helps Job Shops Navigate Corrosion Requirements

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How Do You Navigate All the Different Paint Corrosion Specifications as a Powder Coating or Fabricating Job Shop?

If you’re a powder coater or fabrication shop, you’ve probably seen it happen: a new job comes in with a long list of corrosion requirements, test standards, and coating specs that don’t always line up. One customer asks for a specific salt spray result, another references a standard you rarely see, and a third expects everything to be “per spec” without much clarification.
Corrosion specifications are meant to protect performance, but for job shops, they can quickly become a source of confusion, risk, and added cost. The challenge isn’t just meeting the spec—it’s understanding what the spec is actually asking for and how it affects your process.
At Americo Chemical Products, we work with job shops every day to help them navigate corrosion requirements without overcomplicating their finishing process.
<h2>Why Corrosion Specifications Feel So Complicated</h2>
Corrosion specs come from many different places. OEMs, engineers, and end users often pull requirements from industry standards, internal documents, or past projects. As a result, shops are left sorting through terminology that may not be clearly defined or consistently applied.
Some of the most common challenges include:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Multiple specs that overlap or conflict</li>
<li aria-level="1">Requirements that focus on test results without explaining process expectations</li>
<li aria-level="1">Assumptions that all parts and environments are the same</li>
<li aria-level="1">Limited guidance on surface preparation and pretreatment</li>
</ul>
For a shop running different parts, substrates, and customers every day, this creates uncertainty. Without clarity, it’s easy to overprocess parts or miss a requirement entirely.
<h2>What Corrosion Specifications Are Really Trying to Achieve</h2>
While the language varies, most corrosion specifications aim to answer the same basic question: Will this coating protect the part in its intended environment for the expected service life?
That protection depends on several factors working together:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Proper surface cleaning and pretreatment</li>
<li aria-level="1">Correct coating selection and thickness</li>
<li aria-level="1">Consistent application and curing</li>
<li aria-level="1">Compatibility between substrates and coating systems</li>
</ul>
Salt spray hours, humidity testing, or cyclic corrosion tests don’t guarantee performance on their own. They’re indicators that measure how well the entire system performs under harsh conditions. Understanding this helps shops focus on what truly matters rather than chasing numbers alone.
<h2>Where Job Shops Often Get Caught Off Guard</h2>
Corrosion failures rarely come from a single mistake. More often, they result from small gaps in the process that only show up after testing or field exposure.
Common trouble spots include:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Treating all corrosion specs the same, regardless of environment</li>
<li aria-level="1">Assuming coating thickness alone ensures performance</li>
<li aria-level="1">Overlooking the role of cleaning and pretreatment</li>
<li aria-level="1">Not accounting for mixed metals or part geometry</li>
<li aria-level="1">Relying on past success without adjusting for new requirements</li>
</ul>
Without a clear strategy, shops can spend time and money reacting to failures instead of preventing them.

We help facilities build inspection awareness into their finishing process. Our team works with operators and supervisors to explain what good parts should look like at each stage and what early warning signs indicate potential issues.
We also support facilities by tying inspection feedback back into the process by adjusting chemistry, improving rinse effectiveness, or fine-tuning cleaning and pretreatment stages to prevent defects before they appear. Through hands-on support and training, we help teams shift from reactive fixes to proactive control.
With the right inspection mindset and Americo’s process expertise, quality becomes something you build into every stage, not something you try to fix at the end.

How Americo Supports Continuous Inspection

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Continuous Inspection of Parts: What Operators and Supervisors Should Be Watching Throughout the Finishing Process

In finishing operations, quality is built step by step as parts move through cleaning, pretreatment, coating, and curing. When issues are caught early, they’re easier to fix. When they’re missed, they often turn into rework, scrap, or customer complaints.
At Americo Chemical Products, we encourage a practical, in-process approach to inspection that supports consistency and efficiency in the finished product.
<h2>Why Continuous Inspection Matters</h2>
Relying only on end-of-line inspection puts a lot of pressure on the final step. By the time a defect is visible on a finished part, time, material, and energy have already been invested. Continuous inspection shifts that focus upstream.
When operators and supervisors monitor parts throughout the process, they can:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Catch process issues before they affect an entire run</li>
<li aria-level="1">Identify equipment or chemistry issues early</li>
<li aria-level="1">Reduce rework and scrap</li>
<li aria-level="1">Maintain consistent quality across shifts</li>
</ul>
Operators are closest to the process and often spot changes first. Supervisors help connect those observations to process conditions, maintenance needs, or chemistry adjustments.
When inspection is treated as part of the job—not an extra task—it becomes a powerful tool for maintaining quality and stability.
<h2>What to Look For During Each Stage</h2>
Continuous inspection works best when operators and supervisors know what “good” looks like at every step of the line.
During cleaning and pretreatment, inspection should focus on surface condition and consistency. Parts should come out visibly clean, free of oils, residues, or staining, and behave consistently from one load to the next. Uneven drying, streaks, water beading, or discoloration can all point to issues with chemistry balance, temperature, rinsing, or coverage that need attention before coating begins.
Before and during coating, parts should be checked to ensure surfaces are dry, uniform, and uncontaminated. Operators should watch for consistent coverage and proper film build, while supervisors look for variations in appearance, texture, or color that could signal application issues, grounding problems, or changes in process conditions. Catching these signs early helps prevent defects from being cured into the finish.
After curing, inspection confirms whether the process performed as intended. Teams should look for adhesion issues, surface defects, discoloration, blistering, or gloss variation. When problems appear at this stage, they often trace back to earlier steps, making consistent in-process inspection critical for identifying root causes and preventing repeat issues.

A new paint or powder coat system is a major investment, and the cleaning stage is where long-term performance truly begins. With Americo’s chemistry, hands-on support, and engineering expertise, you can keep your new system operating at its best.

Starting the Process Right

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Engineering the Proper Cleaning Process for Your New Paint or Powder Coat System

When you invest in a new paint or powder coat system, the cleaning stage becomes one of the most important parts of the process. A great coating line can only perform as well as the surface prep in front of it. If the cleaning process isn’t engineered correctly, issues like poor adhesion, inconsistent coverage, and rework will show up alongside parts that simply don’t pass inspection.
At Americo Chemical Products, we help facilities design cleaning processes that support long-term quality and lower operating costs.
<h2>Why the Cleaning Stage Matters So Much</h2>
Cleaning is the foundation of the entire finishing system. Every decision you make in this step affects coating performance, curing behaviour, durability, and warranty outcomes.
A proper cleaning process helps ensure:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Consistent part cleanliness across shifts and production volumes</li>
<li aria-level="1">Reliable adhesion for both paint and powder</li>
<li aria-level="1">Reduced defects, rejects, and rework</li>
<li aria-level="1">Longer bath life and fewer process disruptions</li>
<li aria-level="1">Lower chemical and energy usage over time</li>
</ul>
But cleaning can get complicated. Every facility has unique production demands, part designs, and contamination sources. A one-size-fits-all cleaning process almost never works.
Different metals—whether steel, aluminum, galvanized, or mixed assemblies—require specific approaches to avoid staining, flash rust, or adhesion failures. The soils coming into the system vary just as much. Oils, drawing compounds, weld residues, grinding dust, and everyday handling contamination all behave differently, and no single cleaner performs equally well against every type.
Part size and geometry add another layer of complexity, as deep cavities, weld seams, threaded features, and heavy or irregular fabrications change how chemistry, heat, and spray coverage reach the surface. This is why engineering the cleaning stage up front is one of the smartest moves you can make.
<h2>How Americo Helps You Engineer the Right Cleaning Process</h2>
At Americo, we don’t expect customers to figure out cleaning system design on their own. We work directly with your team to engineer a cleaning stage that fits your parts, soils, equipment, and production goals.
Here’s how we support the process:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">On-site evaluation of your parts and soils, so we understand exactly what your system needs before anything is installed</li>
<li aria-level="1">Custom chemistry recommendations that fit your equipment, soil load, metal types, and temperature requirements</li>
<li aria-level="1">Process design support to ensure temperatures, concentrations, dwell times, and rinsing stages are set up for consistent performance</li>
<li aria-level="1">Startup assistance to help dial in the chemistry and get your new line running smoothly from the first day</li>
<li aria-level="1">Operator training so your team understands how the process works and how to keep it consistent across every shift</li>
<li aria-level="1">Ongoing monitoring and adjustments to maintain stability as production demands, soils, or part types change</li>
</ul>

A more efficient line starts with the right partner. With Americo’s hands-on expertise, optimized chemistry, and ongoing support, you can reduce energy use while improving quality. We look at everything that affects energy consumption and help build a system that exceeds performance expectations without driving up utility costs.

Working Together for More Efficient Cleaning

Improving Energy Efficiency in Cleaning and Pretreatment Systems

Energy is a significant, but quiet driver of cost in any cleaning or pretreatment system. When energy use creeps up, it affects everything from throughput to bath stability to coating quality.
Most facilities don’t notice the issue until something becomes impossible to ignore. The good news is that with the right adjustments, cleaning and pretreatment systems can run far more efficiently without sacrificing performance.
At Americo Chemical Products, we help our customers pinpoint where energy is being lost and make practical improvements that deliver quick results.
<h2>Why Energy Use Keeps Increasing</h2>
Cleaning and pretreatment lines are demanding systems. They rely on heat, flow, and chemical balance to perform well, and each of those elements has an energy cost behind it. Over time, small changes add up.
Here are some of the common reasons energy efficiency is subpar in cleaning and pretreatment operations:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Tanks lose heat faster than expected</li>
<li aria-level="1">Overcompensating for process issues</li>
<li aria-level="1">Pour maintenance</li>
</ul>
Each of these factors increases energy consumption, and each increase has a cost. Over time, issues add up to operational and financial losses, all from a system that simply isn’t running as efficiently as it could.
<h2>How Americo Helps Improve Energy Efficiency</h2>
Our goal is to help you get better performance while using less energy, without slowing production or requiring major system upgrades.
Here’s how we make that happen:
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">Optimized Cleaning Chemistry. We design and recommend cleaners that work effectively at lower temperatures, reducing your heating demand while still delivering strong cleaning performance.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Optimized Pretreatment Chemistry. We tailor pretreatment solutions that perform reliably at ambient or lower temperatures, helping reduce heating demands while maintaining consistent surface preparation and coating performance.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Support for Operators and Maintenance Teams. We work directly with your operators to help them understand how temperature and chemistry interact.</li>
</ol>
The result is a cleaning or pretreatment system that performs better, costs less to run, and supports a more consistent coating process.

If you’re considering automating your pretreatment washer—or want a second look at how your current setup is performing—we’re here to help.

Find Your Solution

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Benefits of Properly Automating Your Pretreatment Washer Process

Maintaining proper cleaning and pretreatment is crucial for achieving the best performance from a finishing line. In an ideal process, everything downstream benefits: cleaner parts, better coating adhesion, fewer defects, and smoother production.
As production demands grow, more facilities are turning to automation to stabilize their pretreatment washer process. Automation improves consistency and operator safety, reduces errors and costs, and generally ensures the chemistry works the way it’s meant to.
At Americo Chemical Products, we help plants understand where automation can make the biggest impact and how to implement it properly.
<h2>Why Automation Matters</h2>
Pretreatment systems involve a lot of moving parts—temperatures, spray pressures, chemical concentrations, water levels, ph ranges, and bath age. When these things are controlled manually, variations are inevitable, creating “peaks and valleys” in the chemistry. Operators do their best, but loads and environmental conditions can change. Automation brings stability to that process.
When the pretreatment washer becomes more consistent, the rest of the finishing line becomes more consistent too. Automation supports improvements across safety, cost, quality, and environmental performance.
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Operational efficiency: Automation helps keep concentrations steady and reduces the need for manual adjustments, leading to faster, more predictable cycles.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Quality and consistency: With the right automation in place, parts come out cleaner and coatings adhere more reliably, eliminating the variability that often leads to defects or rework.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Cost savings: Facilities see reductions in chemical waste and labor demands. Equipment also lasts longer when cycles run at the right settings with optimized chemical ratios.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Safety and compliance: By limiting direct chemical handling by staff, automation makes it easier for teams to stay safe and meet regulatory requirements. It also creates a more predictable, trackable process.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Environmental impact: Automated systems conserve resources by optimizing water and energy use and reducing unnecessary chemical discharge. This helps create a smaller environmental footprint.</li>
</ul>
Together, these benefits make automation one of the most effective ways to strengthen your pretreatment process and overall finishing performance.
<h2>Working Together for a Cleaner Process</h2>
Automation gives pretreatment washers the consistency and stability they need to perform at their best.
Our team evaluates your current washer setup, reviewing load sizes, water quality, chemical balance, and any bottlenecks that affect consistency. We help select equipment that works with your chemical program, ensure dosing systems and pumps are calibrated, and fine-tune wash cycles based on your soils, production goals, and past performance data. Even with automation, oversight matters—so we provide ongoing monitoring, trend reviews, and operator training to keep the system running as it should.
With Americo’s chemistry, technical support, and hands-on guidance, your operation can eliminate many of the manual adjustments that slow production.

News

If you have questions about Fusion’s products or what this new partnership means for your facility, we’re here to help.

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Americo Chemical Products Acquires Fusion Chemical

Americo Chemical Products is excited to share news that strengthens what we can offer our customers every day. We have officially acquired Fusion Chemical and welcomed them into the broader Harbour Group.
<h2>Introducing Fusion</h2>
<a href="https://fusion-chemical.com/">Fusion</a> was founded in 2012 by Matt East and is based in Huntington, Indiana. They formulate and manufacture specialty metalworking fluids that are designed for both high-performance results and low environmental impact. Their offerings include a full line of next-generation specialty lubricants and coolants used across multiple machining and stamping applications.
Jeff Fox, Harbour Group&#8217;s chairman and chief executive, said, “We love partnering with successful founder-owned businesses like Fusion, and we are extremely grateful that Matt placed his trust in us to continue growing his business. Fusion&#8217;s people and products are an excellent addition to Americo. We are confident that the combined business will serve its customers at an even higher level through an expanded product offering.”
Harbour Group is a family-owned company based in St. Louis with a long history of helping industrial businesses grow. Since 1976, they’ve partnered with more than 200 companies across a wide range of manufacturing industries, providing the resources, operational expertise, and long-term support needed to strengthen products, expand capabilities, and serve customers better.
<h2>What This Means for Americo Customers</h2>
For our customers, this partnership means more capability, more expertise, and more ways to support your operation. Fusion’s metalworking fluids complement Americo’s existing lines, giving you access to a more complete and technology-leading set of solutions for machining, stamping, forming, pretreatment, and cleaning.
&#8220;We are very excited to add Fusion&#8217;s Hybrid-Cool product to our offering—it&#8217;s a game-changer for the industry,&#8221; commented Chris Bozin, President of Americo. &#8220;We are now able to offer our customers an even more complete and technology-leading product set, one that will ensure their operations run efficiently. Additionally, we are very fortunate to add Matt and the Fusion team to our company. Their customer relationships, service, and technical chemistry capabilities are top-notch.&#8221;
Fusion is in the process of moving to a new, larger facility that will dramatically increase capacity and support future growth.
&#8220;We found the combination of Americo&#8217;s strong position in the market along with Harbour Group&#8217;s family ownership, long-term view, and impressive operational capabilities to be extremely compelling,” shared Mr. East. “Our people and our customers will benefit from this new chapter, and I am very excited to be part of this larger organization going forward.&#8221;
<h2>Looking Ahead</h2>
As we integrate Fusion’s products, capabilities, and people into Americo, our focus remains exactly the same: helping you run a safer, more efficient, and more dependable operation.

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