AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CASE STUDY

In 2004, one of Mac Arthur’s large customers was implementing a new production process for one of their product lines. The process offered improved quality and production time but required a harsher assembly environment involving high temperatures and caustic chemicals. In order to meet their lean manufacturing and quality requirements, the product needed to be labeled with a bar code at the beginning of the assembly process and scanned at each of 6-10 stages through to the finished product. Any label failures would disrupt the stringent information requirements and cause that part to be removed from the process.

The requirements of the label included the following

• Resistant to high pressure, high temperature alkaline wash
• Readable after powder coat paint process with 185 F bake cycle
• Impervious to abrasion and chemicals for a 5 year period
• Clean edge registration of the paint around the label edge to avoid rust

Mac Arthur’s consultants visited the manufacturing sites to understand the process and developed a plan for solving this challenging problem. We contacted our supplier partners and tested their materials in our certified lab to determine those most fit for the job. Once the correct materials were selected, they were married to create a label that met all of the challenging requirements. The final label was easy to use, required no additional handling by plant personnel and allowed them to use the optimal manufacturing process for their product without worrying about the label surviving.