Electroless Nickel Gets a 24/7 Helpline

The plating industry faces numerous challenges from keeping up with trends in manufacturing to implementing the latest innovations to facing increasingly strict regulatory hurdles. A chronic shortage of experienced platers does not help either. Facilities often need support from suppliers to navigate some of these areas. For that reason, Surface Technology Inc. (STI, Ewing, New Jersey) has launched a free helpline to provide much-needed technical support to electroless nickel (EN) platers around the world. It is called EN 24/7 and is available at en-247.com. The company is also working to provide the service as a free mobile app.

STI President Michael Feldstein explains: “We’ve heard through our distributors and directly from shops that other EN suppliers have been unable to keep up with the level of support that plating shops expect from their supplier. They say it is due to industry consolidation, suppliers not having sufficient technical resources and other shifts in the EN industry. The support shops need is less about analyzing the plating bath itself, and more about providing holistic advice on the entire process that affects product quality, productivity and profitability.”

To address this need, STI developed a helpline that enables EN users anywhere in the world to connect directly with a network of experts that STI has assembled, from distributors and industry colleagues spanning different time zones. Whether it’s troubleshooting an issue with the plating bath, getting advice on pretreatment or other issues, users have access to real-time support from knowledgeable technicians. EN 24/7 provides one-on-one private communications, rather than a forum where questions and answers are exposed.

Feldstein says the service is part of a broader effort by STI to provide more value-added support to the industry. The company has been developing innovative new EN chemistries, including a way to extend the life of spent high-phosphorus plating baths by converting them into useful medium-phosphorus baths. The company has also tested its single-component EN formula at lower metal concentrations and temperatures to help customers reduce costs and environmental impact. 

STI has presented the best practices for EN plating at industry trade shows, and even established a YouTube channel with a series of videos to help platers improve their processes.

And now that the technology exists, EN 24/7 is a tool that STI hopes to provide not only for its customers, but all EN platers worldwide — and it’s free.

The EN 24/7 website is up and running online with a free mobile out soon to follow. In addition to the live chat feature, the service features educational resources, fundamental EN troubleshooting advice and how-to videos from STI’s growing library of content. More educational content is in development and the company is also exploring the possibility of integrating translation capabilities to make the support accessible in multiple languages.

“Support and innovation have always been useful in the industry, but now, with the way things are, they are even more valuable,” Feldstein says. “We’re trying to fill a gap and provide the kind of personalized, practical knowledge that plating shops need to be successful.”

Providing support for the EN community is at the core of STI’s identity, and its EN 24/7 initiative is the latest in numerous efforts to not only support its customers but to help advance the industry. Founded in 1972, STI has carved out a place as one of the leading companies in the metal finishing industry by not only manufacturing and supplying plating chemical solutions for finishers, but also running a plating job shop. According to Feldstein, this combination gives the company practical experience and real-world insight into the needs of finishing operations.

The dual perspective gained from STI’s approach has helped plating operations simplify processes, find efficiencies and reduce their environmental footprint. Feldstein says the company “takes particular pride in making platers happy for greater job satisfaction and better results.”

Driven by customer satisfaction

With customer satisfaction at the forefront, STI’s service goes beyond the point of sale. Through comprehensive training programs, technical support and customized R&D for specific customer needs, the company works to help its clients achieve the highest level of performance. Looking for a way to provide anytime access to technical support, a helpline seemed like the next logical step.

STI’s surface finishing solutions enable a variety of applications where reliability is paramount, from aerospace and automotive to medical devices and manufacturing equipment. The company is known for such innovations as its Composite Diamond Coating and its One-Plate single component EN solution — a solution aimed at simplifying the chemistry and processes, and ultimately improving efficiency for EN platers.

As a company that has qualified as a Top Shop in Products Finishing’s Top Shops Benchmarking Survey every year since the program’s inception, STI has built a team of experts that sets the company apart. The team includes engineers, chemists and application specialists who work in synergy to craft customized solutions. This collaborative approach enables the company to adapt quickly to new challenges, staying ahead of industry trends and technological shifts.