Michigan's Gage Products Expands Product Offerings

FERNDALE, Mich., July 25 -- Gage Products, a leading supplier of paint-system maintenance and closed-loop recycling services, is expanding its product offerings for the automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

The Detroit-area company plans a 20 to 30 percent expansion of its patented paint- and sealant-line cleaning programs within the next year, according to Donald Dixon, Gage's president.

Dixon notes that programs for cleaning paint lines, as well as lines for circulating sealant used in the assembly process, have the potential to save automakers millions of dollars in equipment, operating and warranty costs.

"Cost pressures within the automotive industry are prompting manufacturers to continually look for innovative ways to improve their bottom lines," Dixon says. "Automakers are finding that better maintenance procedures for paint and sealant delivery systems can generate significant savings."

Gage currently has contracts with major car companies to provide paint- system line-cleaning services at 30 to 40 North American assembly plants on an average monthly basis. The company also contracts with a number of automotive fascia suppliers for paint-system line-cleaning.

Sealant lines require less frequent cleansing, usually in intervals of two- to three-years. The company regularly handles 10 to 15 sealant projects per year. In addition, Gage plans to extend its cost-saving service programs to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Over the past five years, Gage has developed a number of patented processes, solvents and acid-based cleansers used to clean paint and sealant delivery lines. The company further improved its paint-line cleaning process recently with a new "post-flush" material and also is developing a line of acid-based cleansers for special paint-system applications.

Dixon explains that line-cleaning jobs often require custom solutions, depending on the types of paint, sealers and lines in use. At the company's Ferndale laboratories, chemists analyze the properties of the various materials involved before recommending a specific blend of cleansers for specific projects.

Automotive sealant lines present a special challenge. Rather than clean sealant lines, many automakers simply replace the lines after five- to eight- years of use. Dixon points out that line replacement often can be a costly and time-consuming operation compared to a regular cleansing program. A full line replacement can range in cost from $50,000 to more than $1,000,000. Regular maintenance can save an automaker up to up to $800,000 or more over an eight-year period.

He adds that a typical automotive-sealant system may handle up to 750 tons of sealant per year at average pressures from 1,500 up to 2,000 pounds per square inch. As old sealant deposits build up within the lines, the system becomes less and less efficient to operate.

In addition to providing regular maintenance service, Gage is working with automakers and paint-system contractors to prepare and clean new systems prior to production start-up. The company also recently developed an environmentally friendly cleaning solution for industrial head-exchange systems.

Gage's R-300 cleanser for heat-exchange equipment is environmentally safer than traditional cleaning formulas that rely on hydrochloric, nitric or sulfuric acids.

"Manufacturers in North America have billions of dollars invested in head- exchange equipment that plays a vital role in a variety of processes, including manufacturing and processing operations in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries," Dixon says. "A single heat-exchange system can cost millions of dollars to install and proper maintenance is required to reduce energy costs, extend equipment life and lower service costs."

Automakers that currently employ Gage to clean paint and sealant lines at various North American assembly plants include DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota.

A global company, Gage is recognized as a pioneer in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent-remanufacturing techniques. Over the past 18 years, Gage's closed-loop recycling system has been used by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to safely recycle more than 70-million gallons of waste material.

Headquartered in Ferndale, Mich., since 1936, the company also has facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. Gage is a leader in the field of sustainable manufacturing and solvent remanufacturing systems. The company also manufactures paint-related products and cleaners for a wide variety of industrial uses, as well as calibration and test fuels for use in the auto industry. Additional information on Gage is available on the Internet at http://www.gageproducts.com/ .