Are you looking for a VCI provider to meet your company's requirements? Do you have corrosion problems at your place of business? or are you simply dissatisfied with your existing VCI supplier's products and services?
This is what you should examine when picking a VCI supplier, regardless of the reason for your search.
Is the VCI vendor trustworthy (ISO certified)?
VCI has been around for decades, and while there are a few trustworthy VCI providers around the world, there are many others who are not. Furthermore, depending on the industry to which the parts are being sold, you may be obliged to utilise an ISO certified VCI provider. As a result, it's critical that you inquire about the supplier's credentials or certificates.
Does the VCI vendor have technical expertise?
Corrosion and rust are complicated issues. It's common to employ a root cause analysis approach to figure out what's causing your parts to rust. Is there a complimentary on-site visit from the supplier to process map your manufacturing line, collect metalworking fluids, and/or test sample parts? It's critical that the VCI supplier be able to test the parts and fluids in order to determine what's causing the corrosion and how to fix it.
Is the corrosion management option identified by the VCI supplier the most effective?
VCI vendors will frequently offer a solution to remedy a corrosion problem, but they should first conduct a thorough root cause investigation and then take the necessary steps to ensure the problem is resolved and won't recur. Not only should your VCI supplier aim to reduce corrosion, but he or she should also try to remove superfluous packaging and materials handling operations.
Is the VCI supplier able to create custom solutions for your application?
Each metal component has its own features. They're frequently created with a variety of metal types, forms, sizes, and weights, with each component requiring different types of protection (for example, spraying apart with a rust preventative coating prior to being placed inside of a VCI bag or using a gusseted VCI bag with VCI paper interleaving stacked parts in a crate). Assume the provider wants to offer more products but doesn't know what level of protection is required. In that scenario, you should inquire about the supplier's ability to supply the full solutions that your company requires.
Is the VCI supplier willing to supply free trial samples?
While laboratory testing is essential for identifying corrosion causes and determining the best remedies, Trial runs should be done prior to purchasing any products or making any changes to your company's procedures because there is no way to completely recreate the real-life process of your metal parts in a laboratory. Your VCI provider should provide free samples of the items to complete these trials and should be present to observe the procedure, as corrosion can often be induced simply by an employee touching parts without wearing clean gloves.
Is there international assistance from the VCI supplier?
OEMs frequently manufacture parts on the other side of the globe and transport them to their consumers. Will your VCI provider be able to visit the manufacturing plant where the parts were made to determine the problem if they arrive rusted? The OEM will continue to experience significant financial costs until the fundamental cause of a rust problem is discovered and suitable mitigation is applied, which is why our technical service engineers assist 70 nations because when firms are experiencing rust, they need help right now.
For a free corrosion consultation, contact Cortec Middle East today!
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