INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Mar. 6, 2007) - Red still means stop and yellow still means caution, but the color silver now brings green to mind for teammates and customers of Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC (FSIP). FSIP has introduced a silver-colored coating for its metal products that meets or exceeds the performance of its current plating while making the manufacturing process more environmentally friendly.
 
            The silver-finish trivalent chromium coating, which will be applied to metal components such as bead plates, brackets and pistons, replaces the hexavalent chromium plating that is commonly used to help the parts resist corrosion. Both plating compositions comply with ASTM specifications and OSHA environmental standards, but the new trivalent coating goes one step further in reducing impact on the environment.
 
            “We at Firestone are committed to constantly improving our products and managing environmental, health and safety issues as an integral part of our business activities. This new silver plating is one result of that commitment,” said Roger Noll, FSIP Manager of Quality Assurance. “More than 90 percent of our product line uses treated metal components, so the significant research and development we put into this coating is allowing us to further reduce our environmental footprint.”
 
            Consistent with the previous hexavalent chromium coating, the new silver trivalent chromium coating is plated in accordance with ASTM B 633 Type II, class Fe/Zn12, SC3 finish specification. The ASTM standard for Type II corrosion resistance is 96 hours of salt spray. Firestone’s studies, conducted with internal and external subject experts, showed the new silver coating met or exceeded the corrosion resistance and color retention of the former coatings after hundreds of hours of salt spray tests.
 
            FSIP’s domestic manufacturing operations began using the new silver coating on Feb. 4. Its European manufacturing facilities will be converting in the coming months. All facilities are expected to be converted by the end of the year.