Fine Tuning and Other Advancements

We are happy to report that the launch of our e-commerce platform, The FinishingZone™, has been successfully completed, and the response from current and new customers is strong. As with all new applications, we performed some fine-tuning to make the engine run more smoothly. The outcome has been slow but steady customer activity. We are learning what you are looking for and how we can improve our service and product performance through your feedback. This customer interaction is proving that our model is working.

Keeping advancements in mind, our primary goal as a manufacturer is to continually review and inquire into the performance of the products we make. This gives us the ability to track who is using a product, on what type of project and the final results achieved by the finisher. Along with our external product tracking through customer relations, we also perform in-house studies of our systems as well as yearly reviews with our raw material suppliers. This ensures that quality control is maintained and gives us the advantage of learning about possible raw material up-grades that may improve a particular coating's performance.

One such review has taken place with our Oxford Premium Spray Lacquer. Regular visitors to our Ask the Experts page might be aware of an ongoing dialogue regarding the flow-out and atomization of the PSL-Gloss when used with turbine spray equipment. This issue has been at the forefront of our efforts to adjust the already unique characteristics of the Oxford PSL to meet the demanding requirements of turbine spray applications. We have had to study the behavior of the PSL when atomized at turbine temperatures exceeding 100*F coupled with the low CFM generated by many lower priced turbine packages. Although we have not completed our studies, we have already gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about how to improve the PSL for customers who use compressed air spray equipment at low CFM levels. Another hidden bonus to these studies has been the reformulating of our SA5 Retarder. When used with any of our systems, the new SA5 improves flow-out and wetting dramatically without the long incorporation time required from the 1st Generation additive.

So, things have progressed in a positive way. We continue to grow by communicating with you, our customers, and listening to your experiences with our products. We may not have solved all of the minute issues, but we promise to continue our product development and research to bring you improvements.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Jeff Weiss
Director