Every year we face different challenges that make us constantly develop the business and create the perfect environment to shape the future in the industries we focus on. In December 2018 we created the plan for the projects we want to implement in 2019. One of the main projects was the implementation of the internal anodization process, a process that was previously done just externally.

On December 27 we were announced that our only viable anodizing supplier had a fire on the surface treatment lines that seriously affected the anode section. Due to the serious damages, the supplier announces that they will be able to reach normal production capacity only in March 2019. We had to find a quick solution to make sure we serve our customers and have all the orders delivered in time. Unfortunately, finding other external suppliers was not a solution as the event occurred at the end of the year and all suppliers had closed doors till the first week of January 2019. The only solution we had was to quickly create a mixed team to implement the internal anodization process. The first step we took was to call the Candor supplier for chemistry (Jorgen Petterson and Ivan Brigido) and to ask them to create a dedicated process for our alloy type in the first week of the year. At the end of week 1, we had the process created and on the second one they made a study visit and delivered the necessary training to make sure we can run the line as soon as possible.

At the end of week two, all the chemicals were already delivered and anodization process was ready to start. We started the process on January 3rd and on January 10 the first test was done and we successfully made the first anodized part in FAIST Mekatronic’s history. In the coming days, adjustments and improvements were made, and in the third week we declared the anodized production fully functional. At the end of week 7 we managed to reach the target set by the SCM department: 120 pieces per shift, thanks to the contribution of all the team members involved.