Case Study

Solving Customer Rim Backlog Issue

PPS Utilizes Multiple Facilities to Keep Rim Producer Rolling

Problem

A producer of steel automotive rims approached Production Paint Stripping’s (PPS) Toronto plant. The producer said its previous supplier went out of business.

The rim company had a three-month backlog and was still producing roughly 800 rims per week additional, which exceeded maximum capacity of the PPS Toronto facility.

PPS needed to find the means not only to clear the producer’s backlog of inventory to be paint stripped, but also the means to keep up with the volume of rims the producer regularly requires to be cleaned.

Solution

PPS conducted some stripping and quality trials and ramped up to full production between the Toronto and Windsor plants over the course of one month. PPS cleared out the rim producer’s backlog and now continues to chemical paint strip roughly 500 rims per week for the producer.

Chemical paint stripping uses industrial- strength chemical processes to weaken or break down the bond between the paint and the metal surface. Any paint remaining after several hours in the chemical bath is removed with high pressure water jets.

During the chemical immersion process, paint is removed from parts through submersion into water-based chemical solutions, which surround the metal, remove the organics and provide a clean part for continued operations. After the part is cleaned and inspected, it is returned to the customer.

Results

The feedback is that PPS exceeded the producer’s expectations in service and quality. PPS expanded its capacity in Windsor and expects to strip all of the rims at the Windsor facility by mid-February.

The Toronto facility is retained for extra capacity if required. PPS now handles all the producer’s current needs and the producer is a top 10 customer of all PPS branches.

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