The Science Lab
The Role of Citric Acid in Parts Cleaning
Although most people think of citrous cleaners as everyday household degreasers, such as GooGone or Lemishine. Citric Acid is actually a very different but even more useful industrial cleaner. Unlike everyday citrous products, Citric Acid is actually a poor degreaser or oil removing chemistry. However, Citric Acid is great at a variety of other industrial applications. It does a wonderful job at removing oxides caused by environmental exposure. Studies by NASA and others have shown Citric Acid to be a greener and safer alternative to Nitric Acid when passivating stainless steel. It can also effectively and safely remove surface rust and descale your parts washer during regular PM’s!
Want to know more about the role of Citric Acid in parts cleaning? Watch this 15 minute Tech to Tech session with KYZEN’s Jason Schwartz as he goes over the properties, processes, and results of Citric Acid in parts cleaning.
MCA: Who, What, Why
The Manufacturing Cleaning Association (MCA) was established in September 2019 after almost 10 years of discussion and preparation and has since become a thriving organization filled with cleaning experts. Gardner Business Media founded the MCA along with other industry-leading companies to fulfill a need for cleaning knowledge across the entire industry. Repeatedly the question had been posed, “How clean is clean” by manufacturing experts throughout the industry. The Manufacturing Cleaning Association was formed to help answer just that question.
Through months of planning and strategic work, the MCA began signing foundational members in December 2019. Founding members included Brulin, Glaser, Hubbard Hall, JAYCO Cleaning Technologies, JOMESA, and KYZEN. Each of these companies has brought new insight into what the manufacturing world needs, as well as top experts in their fields. Some of these experts serve on the board of directors and help steer the association toward cleaning excellence. Our very own Sherry Stepp serves as the President of the MCA and brings her 25+ years of experience to the executive committee. The MCA has brought together a diverse group of individuals and companies all looking to create a better community and share experiences as well as providing intelligent cleaning answers.
The MCA is always looking for new members to add to its already robust community. Becoming a member allows you access to exclusive networking opportunities, technical education, industry standards, and professional connections. If this sounds like something that could be beneficial to you or your organization, click here to read more about the membership process.
Meet Your Clean Team
Phil Tomasello – Midwest Regional Manager
Phil Tomasello is one of KYZEN’s Midwest Regional Managers covering Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Phil grew up in Pittsburgh but since 2008 he now calls Grand Rapids Michigan home. Phil has a beautiful wife and two lovely daughters, for whom he is extremely grateful. He credits them with enriching his life so much over the years. The most recent addition to Phil’s family is his rescue cat named Buddy and has been a welcome and treasured member of the family.
An interesting fact about Phil, he is a professionally trained musician (drummer), who has recorded many songs/albums for aspiring singer/songwriters in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Nashville over the past 30 years. The pandemic put a stop to most of the studio and live gigs, but Phil hopes that his studio days are not over.
While Phil has only been at KYZEN a brief time, he feels surrounded by a supportive environment that has a focus on teamwork, a strong work ethic, and integrity. Phil is a refreshing addition to the KYZEN Clean Team, and we are happy to have him.
Be sure to ask Phil about his musical talents the next time you see him!
Shawn Varney – Southeast Regional Manager
Shawn Varney joined the KYZEN Clean Team in March of this year as the Southeast Regional Manager. Shawn lives in Melbourne, Florida, and graduated from the Universal Technical Institute.
Shawn has an abundance of experience in manufacturing and was mentored by his father for years at Lockheed Martin. He is a perfect fit for KYZEN as he was a customer and understands the full cleaning process as well as what happens next.
Shawn enjoys anything outdoors, being in Florida makes that a reality on a regular basis. He spends time with his dad and brother renovating their family home, building airplanes, and even racing cars. Some interesting facts about him are that he does not watch TV, he had brain surgery at the age of twelve, and he enjoys working and staying busy with his hands. Shawn has been a welcome addition to our KYZEN family.
If you have any cleaning questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Shawn.
SDS: What Everyone Needs to Know
Safety Data Sheets are short, standardized documents that provide the user with an overview of the hazards, proper storage, and shipping or transport of a product. These written instructions go back as far as the ancient Egyptians when they were written on papyrus and tomb walls. The United States published the first “Material Safety Data Sheet” in 1968, for the specific use of maritime workers. Today, they are an important part of understanding the correct way to handle and store potentially hazardous chemicals.
There are sixteen sections to a safety data sheet, ranging from Identification of the chemical to toxicological, ecological, transportation, and regulatory information. Each one of these is crucial to understand if your workplace handles potentially harmful chemicals or other products. At KYZEN, this is something we take very seriously, and find that knowledge about the details within an SDS can help your workplace stay safe.
KYZEN’s own Carolyn Leary will be conducting a special Tech 2 Tech series on this very subject. Join us as Carolyn works her way through a Safety Data Sheet and learn what each section can tell you to help while handling potentially dangerous materials in the workplace and where to find the information quickly if something goes wrong.
Make sure to also check out her introduction to Safety Data Sheets, to learn in more detail about the origin and history of SDS’s in the workplace.
Customer Service: Second to None…and we have the awards to prove it!
KYZEN’s philosophy is putting its customers first – no matter what. Our goal is to have customers for life, not just for a season. We pride ourselves on meeting our customers’ expectations with not only quality products, but with expert technical help, field support and response time completing what we believe is full service – customer service. At KYZEN we strive to be where science and care converge, and for our customers, we achieve just that.
KYZEN has been honored with the 2022 CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Service Excellence Award (SEA) in the category of Cleaning/Processing. Sponsored by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Magazine, the Service Excellence Awards for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers and electronics assembly suppliers honor companies excelling in the crucial area of customer service. The program, now in its 30th year, functions as a way for participants to see how they compare to peers in customer satisfaction. It is awarded based on responses from the actual customers.
This is the 15th time we have received this prestigious award. These awards show that we are putting our people to the test and coming out on top.
“This award is a testament to the core values exhibited at KYZEN by each and every employee, commented Sherry Stepp, KYZEN’s Global Marketing Manager. “We are honored that our customers have once again chosen to recognize our exceptional customer service. We focus on customer satisfaction from the moment we receive the order, to the production of the product, shipping, technical support and our expert sales team.”
One of our focuses is making sure we do not become stagnant in our push to maintain these high customer service standards. We are constantly looking for ways to exceed our customer’s needs and expectations. We take the feedback obtained from these customer surveys to heart and strive to continuously improve in every area. Having conversations like this makes us hopeful that more customer service awards will be in our future!
