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Zerust® VCI Packaging Protects Automotive Stampings from Rust and Corrosion

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Who?

Automotive stamping company

What?

Protection of stampings from rust and corrosion

Why?

Corrosion forming within 24 hours of stamping

How?

Numerous potential contributors to corrosion were identified and investigated by Zerust’s laboratory, e.g. chlorinated paraffins in the stamping fluid, water quality, pH and bacteria control, and cardboard contact in packaging. Zerust® implemented VCI packaging products (ICT®510 VCI Ferrous Film and ICT®420 VCI Kraft Paper) to protect stampings from rust and corrosion.

Problem

A Midwest automotive stamping company that supplies small stampings for various OEMs had an unexpected spike in customer rejects due to excessive rust. The corrosion began to form within 24 hours of stamping and became so severe that corrosion costs including overtime, de-rusting, air freight, and scrapped parts totaled more than $50,000 per month. Stampings routinely sent to a third-party wash source four miles from the stamping facility exhibited corrosion upon arrival. The company’s sister plants in Michigan and Mexico were also affected by this increase in corrosion.

Solution

The stamping company approached the VCI supplier they were using for help; that supplier had plenty of products but no solutions. On the recommendation from its sister stamping plant in Mexico, the plant contacted Zerust®. Zerust® immediately demonstrated a comprehensive approach to corrosion control. Numerous potential contributors to corrosion were identified and investigated by Zerust’s laboratory, e.g. chlorinated paraffins in the stamping fluid, water quality, pH and bacteria control, and cardboard contact in packaging. The scientific process was invaluable in resolving the corrosion problem.

In addition to root-cause analysis from corrosion experts, Zerust® provided VCI Packaging products for numerous live trials. Results showed that Zerust® VCI Packaging products were as good or better than the incumbent products with lower minimum order quantities and a lower price. Zerust® helped the stamping company realize additional savings by properly sizing bags to eliminate excess material. Also, testing proved that the incumbent’s foam pad emitter offered negligible corrosion protection and could be eliminated.

Zerust® ICT®510-C protects ferrous metals from rust & corrosion
For years

Zerust® ICT®420-35 protects metals from rust & corrosion
For 1 year

Customer Satisfaction
100%

Results

Corrosion costs have gone from over $50,000 per month to zero. Contact your Zerust® Representative for a comprehensive corrosion management solution most effective for your metal assets.

The Zerust® sales manager’s collaboration and technical support throughout this project not only contributed to the final solution, but Zerust® was also able to reduce the cost of the VCI products we use. Their solution was less expensive but more effective.

Representative from the stamping company

More Case Studies

A global supplier of brake, chassis and drive components to the automotive industry was experiencing rust issues with components shipping within North America. Their method of protection when Zerust® was called in, consisted of the use of a competitor’s open cell VCI Foam layered within the dunnage. A local Zerust® representative visited the customer’s facility to review the issue the customer was having. During this visit, it was determined that the competitor’s VCI Emitter presented several issues regarding automotive corrosion protection requirements of clean, dry and corrosion free parts. The foam was “wet” with Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor which was displacing onto the surface of the components and was not providing enough Volatile Corrosion Inhibitor to protect the parts.

View Case Study

A large US auto manufacturer was plagued by auto parts arriving at assembly facilities corroded. To add to the challenge, the parts had to be packed hot which created condensation. The manufacturer could not use oils and the parts had a storage period prior to use. The Zerust® team of corrosion technicians were invited to diagnose the problem and create a packaging solution.

View Case Study

A leading manufacturer of axles and other automotive parts wanted to find a faster, more efficient corrosion inhibiting packaging solution to protect gears, axles, and differential units during service and inter-plant shipment. Typically, these parts are wrapped with VCI film and secured with tape. However, this process is very labor intensive, taking an average of four minutes to wrap and tape a single part.

View Case Study

A Tier 1 automotive powertrain manufacturer started producing a new part that required Zerust® VCI protection during shipment to the end user. The manufacturer had an existing supply of Zerust® 2 mil Ferrous Yellow VCI bags. However, the VCI bags were too large for their new application and they found their employees were spending extra time on close winding the excess material into a twist, to seal the VCI bag closed in the returnable tote. They contacted Zerust® with the goal of finding a streamlined solution to make it easier for their employees to pack and close the VCI bags, allowing them to save on time and material cost.

View Case Study

A major agricultural machinery and diesel engine manufacturer approached Zerust® with a storage challenge. They had purposely produced a surplus of engines to meet anticipated demand. They required the engines to be stored rust-free for at least two years until they were needed for their long-term production use. Over 2,000 engines were to be stored in a non-climate controlled warehouse where the temperature and humidity varied. They were concerned this environment would cause rust. The storage location and ultimate destination of the engines were also located in two different countries to add to the complexity of the project.

View Case Study

A large automotive transmission manufacturer located in the Midwest was experiencing rust and corrosion on torque converts during the storage and shipment to their end-user. They contacted Zerust® as they needed a corrosion control company to visit their facility and identify what was the reason for their parts corroding during the storage and shipment.

View Case Study

A Russian automaker experienced corrosion on stamped metal surfaces during CKD (complete knock-down) shipments from Russia to Ecuador. They used various oils as their corrosion protection method, which proved to be ineffective as well as an environmentally hazardous means of protection. The auto manufacturer needed a different solution that would work efficiently and without the contamination and the clean-up that comes with using oil.

View Case Study

Related Products

Zerust® ICT®510-C Ferrous VCI Film

Use ICT®510-C VCI Film for cost-effective and versatile protection against corrosion damage for Ferrous metals in shipping and storage.

Zerust® ICT®420 VCI Kraft Paper Rolls

Zerust® ICT® VCI Paper is a high-quality kraft paper that is saturated on both sides with Zerust® corrosion inhibitors. The product integrates packaging materials with powerful vapor corrosion inhibitors for ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, and multimetal parts.

Zerust® ICT®510-C Multimetal VCI Film

Use ICT®510-C VCI Multimetal Film for cost-effective and versatile protection against corrosion damage for ferrous and non-ferrous metals in shipping and storage.

Zerust® ICT®510-C Non-Ferrous VCI Film

Use ICT®510-C Non-ferrous VCI Film for cost-effective and versatile protection against corrosion damage for non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper, brass, bronze and galvanized steel in shipping and storage.

Zerust® ICT®420 VCI Creped Kraft Paper

Zerust®/Excor® Crepe Paper is a high-quality kraft paper that is saturated on both sides with proven Zerust® corrosion inhibitors. The product integrates packaging materials with powerful Vapor Corrosion Inhibitors (VCIs) for ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, and multimetal parts.

Zerust® ICT®420-35P VCI Poly Kraft Paper

Zerust® ICT®420-35P is a polyethylene coated VCI kraft paper with proprietary Zerust® ICT® formulations contained within the polyethylene coating (coating on one side of sheet only).

Zerust® ICT®430-35PCR VCI Paper

Zerust® ICT® Poly Coated Reinforced VCI Paper is a high-quality 35# kraft paper that is saturated on one side with proven Zerust® corrosion inhibitors and laminated with a 3/4 mil polyethylene layer and fiberglass scrim on the back side to provide superior strength.