Applied Tech Industries

Applied Tech Industries (ATI) was established in 1989 and is a leading provider of Aquence™/Autophoretic® coating services. ATI is the only U.S. jobber that provides both Aquence 866 and Aquence 930 coatings. The Aquence™/Autophoretic® process is a unique, water based, environmentally friendly process that is patented by Henkel Corporation, a large multi-national Company. Applied Tech Industries is an approved applicator of these coatings, and has a modern 50,000 square foot plant in Chesterfield, MI. In this plant, we have an 800 Series monorail conveyor line and a large 900 Series Hoist line that is capable of running large parts such as Trailer Hitches, Engine Cradles, and Axle Assemblies. The 900 Series line also has the option for an acid pickle pre-treatment on parts that have had heavy welding or are rusty. This line has a work package of 6’W x 5’L x 5’D and also includes a provision for powder top coating over the Aquence 930 using the new Henkel “Co-cure” process.

Aquence 866
Aquence 866 is a Medium Gloss Black water based coating that is very environmentally friendly, with no heavy metals or VOC's. It is cured at a low temperature (220-240F) which allows the coating of assemblies that contain rubber and plastic parts with no detrimental effects. The paint will adhere only to ferrous materials, so the non-ferrous parts come out of the process clean with no paint trying to stick to the surfaces. White nylon parts can be run through black paint and they come out white. It is used primarily on interior and chassis parts that are subjected to temperatures that don't exceed 250F. The Autophoretic 800 Series provides a very thin and uniform finish that doesn't bridge or otherwise gum up threaded parts or moving parts such as hinges. It also provides excellent corrosion protection and is very chip and scratch resistant.

Aquence 930
Aquence 930 is a Gloss Black, water based, Epoxy Enamel that is also very environmentally friendly, with no heavy metals and very low VOC's. It is cured at a higher temperature (365F), which allows it to be used in application environments up to 450F. It is also very thin and uniform and will adhere only to ferrous material. It also has excellent adhesion on Heat Treated, HSLA, Cast, and high carbon parts. Generally it is used in under hood or other high temperature applications or where the Customer prefers a Glossy finish. In addition, it is very durable and chip resistant, because it is applied directly over the bare metal and has no phosphate layer, which tend to be more fragile. We are also now running the new Henkel “Co-cure” process which uses the Aquence 930 as a prime coat combined with a Powder top coat that are finish cured together to provide an extremely durable, weather resistant coating with 3000 hours of salt spray durability.

Another advantage of Autophoretic coatings is that, because of the unique deposition mechanism, they will coat both the inside and outside surfaces of tubes or parts with boxed sections. This prevents inside out corrosion, which is a common problem with other types of coatings.

In addition to offering both the 800 and 900 Series Aquence coatings, ATI also has a wide range of complementary and related services:

Light Assembly
ATI performs a variety of light assembly operations which reduce cost, reduce work in process (WIP), and shorten lead times for our Customers. We also do final packaging and bar code labeling of totes, boxes, and pallets which enables direct shipment from our plant to the end user.

Direct Shipment
Direct shipment further reduces transportation costs, WIP, and lead times for our Customers. As part of this process, we can receive EDI transmissions of schedules and releases and send Advance Shipment Notices (ASN’s).

Part Labeling
In addition to the labeling of shipping containers, we can bar code label individual parts where required.

Inspection / Third party Certification
The scope of our Quality Certificate of Registration also qualifies us do inspection and third party certification for our Customers, once again reducing transportation, handling, and WIP costs.

Acid Pickle / Rust Removal
Our 900 Series Coating line has an optional acid pickle as well as a pickle only program which allows us to rack or bulk pickle parts to remove rust. We can handle parts up to 6 feet x 5 feet in size.

Equipment Building
ATI, with our partner, Universal Automation Systems (make this a hyperlink), can build captive Aquence lines for those who have the volume of work to justify investment in their own lines. We bring a unique combination of 25 years experience of building as well as operating Autophoretic coating lines.