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Kolene's Innovative Technology Drives SAE World Congress

DETROIT, April 11 -- The Kolene Corporation will showcase the future of manufacturing efficiency to some 30,000 engineer and TACOM military leaders at this year's SAE World Congress, April 16 - 19, at Detroit's Cobo Hall.

With more than $3.5 million in new orders from Sikorsky and the U.S. Army, Kolene immersion processes can be tailored for small passenger car engines and components, tank engines and helicopter blades.

"Our unique processes are setting new benchmarks for costs, quality and throughput across the entire spectrum of the transportation industry with customers like Boeing, GE, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney," said Roger L. Shoemaker, Chairman, President and CEO of Kolene Corporation. "Whether it's descaling precision titanium helicopter blades for Sikorsky or cleaning entire tank engines at the U.S. Army's Anniston Depot in Alabama, the performance of our systems have a profound impact on improving manufacturing efficiencies along with significant environmental advantages."

In measuring operating efficiency, Shoemaker said the new process at Anniston can clean an entire tank engine in as little as 30 minutes, making it ready for reassembly. The traditional method of sandblasting, grinding, steam cleaning and rework takes up to eight hours.

Typical applications for the process include preparing iron castings for final assembly by removing scales, oxides and sand; dissolving ingested sand and dirt from jet engine blades; removing all forms of carbon, paints and coatings; descaling stainless, titanium and super alloys and cleaning gas and diesel engine components for remanufacturing.

The sizing and capabilities of Kolene processes are carefully tailored to individual customer requirements. Currently, Kolene has process units with work zone envelopes as small as 18x18x18 inches and systems than can accommodate 60 foot long components. Units can be installed for as little as a few hundred thousand dollars to major systems which can cost up to several million dollars each. Work handling options range from simple, manually- controlled hoists to fully automated systems.

By using proprietary formulations of inorganic chemicals, Kolene molten salt processes are unique in that they continue to perform even when saturated with reaction byproducts. The baths are self-regulating, rejecting excess byproducts which are collected in specialized zones. This capability of byproduct rejection and additions of fresh process chemicals allows the system to provide long-term repeatable, consistent results with minimal environmental impact.

Kolene was founded in Detroit in 1939 and has some 35 team members in 3 facilities in Detroit, Michigan. The company has experience across a variety of industries and military applications in processing high performance equipment and components and boasts a unique base of intellectual property.