EHS & Sustainability

EHS & Sustainability

Using SIFCO Process® enables companies to meet or exceed most industrial requirements while remaining sensitive to environmental regulations. Our process has been specifically engineered to use the minimum quantities of materials to ensure worker safety and to ease the burden of waste disposal.

SIFCO ASC voluntarily maintains its Quality and Environmental Management System (EMS) to ISO 14001:2015. ISO 14001:2015 is the international standard that specifies requirements for an effective environmental management system. Instead of providing performance requirements, ISO 14001:2015 only provides a framework for an organization to follow – encompassing our products entire lifecycle, rather than just it’s production. By improving our resource efficiency, we will therefore reduce waste and costs.

Maintaining our EMS helps SIFCO ASC minimize how our operations impact the environment, comply with government regulations and requirements, as well as continuously improve to maintain our certification.

To date, SIFCO ASC monitors the following:

• Electrical Usage
• Hazardous Waste Produced
• Bottle Usage
• Paper Usage

Environmentally Friendly Solutions

Today’s demanding applications require well-engineered and proven deposits that pose as little risk possible to both the operator and the environment. Depending upon your plating requirements SIFCO ASC has developed cadmium alternatives to meet your application needs.

• Zinc-Nickel LHE®
• Tin-Zinc

Zinc-Nickel LHE® and Tin-Zinc are less toxic alternatives to cadmium plating that can be used to repair cadmium, zinc-nickel, tin-zinc, and IVD aluminum on high strength steels. Both deposits provide excellent corrosion protection, are low hydrogen embrittlement and do not require a post-plate, hydrogen embrittlement relief bake.

Zinc-Nickel LHE® and Tin-Zinc have already been approved by:

• Boeing
• Messier-Bugatti-Dowty
• Ratier-Figeac
• Turbomeca
• NASA
• and more

Chromium Alternatives
SIFCO ASC’s chrome alternatives are the perfect environmentally friendly brush plated deposits for repair and OEM applications that require exceptionally hard plating. Depending upon your plating requirements SIFCO ASC has developed a variety of deposits to meet your application needs:

• AeroShield® 4015
• AeroNikl® 575 7280/5727
• Cobalt-Nickel Semi-Bright 5720
• Nickel High-Speed 2803
• Nickel-Tungsten 5711

These deposits were developed for aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, and any other industries where surface hardness, wear resistance and coefficient of friction are critical. SIFCO ASC’s chrome alternatives are used for a variety of applications such as high build-up, resizing parts subject to wear and corrosion, and salvage.

Cyanide-Free Solutions
Cyanide is a chemical compound that is inherently toxic. Plating solutions which contain cyanide ions are corrosive to skin and eyes and potentially lethal if swallowed. While it’s critical to maintain proper ventilation throughout any plating operation, if cyanide ions come into contact with an acid, the air in the plating area will contain high levels of hydrogen cyanide gas. To meet customer’s demand for increased technician health and safety, SIFCO ASC has developed plating solutions without cyanide that have the same adhesion and deposit characteristics.

• Gold Non-Cyanide 5355
• Silver Non-Cyanide 3084/5870
• Silver Production Non-Cyanide 5871

Also, with the SIFCO Process®, even plating on nitrided surfaces does not require a cyanide strip, instead the technician will etch off the white layer using a water-based preparatory solution. Cyanide-free preparatory procedures have also been developed for plating on aluminum to ensure a quality deposit and proper adhesion.

Boric Acid-Free Nickel Solutions

Over ten years ago, Boric acid was added to the list of substances of very high concern (SVHC) under REACH due to its toxicity towards reproduction. Of our catalog of over 100 brush plating and alloy solutions, only 13 contain boric acid.

But to understand why it’s notable to have a large number of Boric acid-free solutions, one must understand the role of Boric acid in plating. Boric acid serves several functions, including controlling internal stress, stabilizing pH, maintaining good deposit quality, and enabling the use of grain refining additives. SIFCO ASC’s solutions have achieved these properties with environmentally friendly, water-based solutions without the use of Boric acid.

Large Prime customers are working hard to anticipate new SVHC. When looking at new coatings to be specified as a repair or OEM process, many companies will try to establish procedures that can be used all over the world and encounter the least amount of restriction. Our most common boric acid-free Nickel solutions are:

• Nickel Acid 2080/5600
• Nickel Acid 2807
• Nickel Ductile 2086
• Nickel Ductile 2088

What’s more, the SIFCO Process® of selective electroplating provides superior electroplated deposits and anodized coatings with minimal waste. Utilization of the SIFCO Process® enables companies to meet or exceed most industrial requirements while remaining sensitive to environmental regulations.

There is no question that environmental regulatory enforcement is significantly different today than years ago. The terminology alone can be baffling until studied and understood. SIFCO ASC has a thorough knowledge of the regulations which are mainly promulgated by OSHA and the EPA. Our Environmental Services Department is charged with staying current with environmental regulations and assisting our staff and customers. These environmental support services are available to all SIFCO Process® customers by calling SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts headquarters at 800-765-4131.