Utilizing Zinc in Manufacturing

Want an inside look at how Deco Products and its customers are utilizing zinc? Watch this video to hear from one of Deco’s Owners, the CEO, and other Deco employees!

Utilizing Zinc

Utilizing zinc by means of die casting provides very solid and stable parts that are corrosion resistant and more environmentally friendly than competitive metals such as aluminum and magnesium. The number one use of zinc in manufacturing is in galvanized steel for large scale projects such as beams for buildings, showcasing the versatile applications of utilizing zinc.

Following galvanized steel, zinc die casting is an essential utilization of zinc in manufacturing. Many parts ranging from sash locks for windows to water pressure regulators on firetrucks are manufactured by means of zinc die casting, further highlighting the diverse ways of utilizing zinc in various industries.

Video Transcription on Utilizing Zinc in Manufacturing 

[00:00:00.200] – Narrator 

Today on 21st Century Television, explore state-of-the-art technology, innovative business strategies, insights from cutting edge corporations around the globe, a visionary look into the answers of tomorrow. Today, Business leaders, Business Solutions, 21st Century Television. 

 

[00:00:26.690] – Jackie Bales 

Diecastings made out of zinc alloys have been proven to offer better properties and improve strength and durability over conventional materials like aluminum and plastic. Yet they remain underutilized in many industries. Deco Products has made it their mission to change that. Here to discuss this is DECO’s co-owner and partner, Steve Charles. Welcome, Steve. 

 

[00:00:47.680] – Steve Charles, Co-Owner and Partner 

Thank you, Jackie. It’s a pleasure to be here. 

 

[00:00:49.940] – Jackie Bales 

Steve, in your opinion, what’s the biggest opportunity out there for zinc alloy die casting? 

 

[00:00:55.670] – Steve Charles 

With zinc, we’re able to cast intricate shapes on the part and hold much higher degree of tolerances. Zinc is much stronger than, say, aluminum or plastic, and the die life is much longer. 

 

[00:01:09.590] – Jackie Bales 

So many of your customers have benefited from the ease of conducting business with DECO. Tell us a little more about DECO Products, the company, who you are and what you provide. 

 

[00:01:20.720] – Steve Charles 

Deco started in 1960 as a zinc die caster. We added powder-coated painting and assembly work. We’re able to provide quality parts in a timely fashion to our customers. Oftentimes, customers don’t even know that zinc is an alternative to what they’re using, and we can save them money by casting with zinc. 

 

[00:01:47.100] – Jackie Bales 

Wow. Well, in this 21st Century business field report, we take a trip to DECO Products headquarters in Iowa to tour the home of their renowned zinc die casting operations. 

 

[00:01:57.330] – Narrator 

Products made from zinc alloys are a critical component of manufacturing processes across many industries. Deco Products Company is a full-service zinc diecast manufacturer that sets itself apart through their strong engineering support system, customer service, and expertise in the industry. 

 

[00:02:15.350] – Sales Manager 

We have a strong engineering staff, probably the largest of any diecast within the country, that works daily with customers engineering to develop product at a competitive price.  

 

[00:02:25.680] – Mike Murphy, Engineering Manager 

We have a large group of engineers here to serve the customer and to work with you to create a new part to meet your needs. We work with mold flow analysis so that we can prove out a design prior to producing the first parts from that to reduce iterations to get a good casting and make sure that we’re getting the best result at the beginning of the process. 

 

[00:02:51.840] – Narrator 

Whether it’s manufacturing industry leading clamps and tools or working with customers to design solutions specific to their needs, DECO provides quality zinc alloy products at a fair price. 

 

[00:03:03.820] – Chris Storlie, Deco Products CEO

More and more customers today are looking at purchasing as a strategic decision rather than simply an afterthought. And choosing the right partner is a key to their success. For us, it starts with our salesmen who go out and communicate to the customers and explain what we can do for them. And communication is the key to any relationship. After that, engineering comes in with design support and implementation of programs that come to market. Then those move to production where day after day, our whole goal is simply to produce the right part at the right time for the customer. Behind all this is the support staff from customer service, quality, toolroom, and maintenance. All these things come together with a continuous improvement program to ensure that DECO is the right choice today and tomorrow. 

 

[00:03:54.050] – Jackie Bales 

Steve, what markets and types of customers are you currently supplying? 

 

[00:03:59.670] – Steve Charles 

We supply original equipment manufacturers, a lot in the furniture industry, window and door manufacturers, heavy truck, recreational vehicle, just about anywhere where a zinc alloy can be used. 

 

[00:04:14.560] – Jackie Bales 

And obviously those are areas where you would need a strong product. And of course, a company would want to have the best cost value on that. 

 

[00:04:22.000] – Steve Charles 

Right. 

 

[00:04:22.930] – Jackie Bales 

It’s surprising to me that as zinc has been around as long as it has that some companies aren’t really aware of the benefits of using these zinc alloy products. 

 

[00:04:32.670] – Steve Charles 

Right. They may be using the same tool or same material for a long period of time, but our staff and engineers at DECO will help educate our customers as to the properties and values of using zinc. We’ll help them design apart to their needs and oftentimes less expensive. 

 

[00:04:55.830] – Jackie Bales 

So the response from some of these customers, when you’ve introduced them to the benefits of using the zinc alloy parts, what reaction do they have? 

 

[00:05:05.690] – Steve Charles 

Well, oftentimes they’re quite amazed that it just didn’t enter their mind. And when we add some of our capabilities or explain that to them, such as flow monitoring, shot monitoring, and our automation, they’re really quite impressed. 

 

[00:05:22.930] – Jackie Bales 

Steve, in your opinion, what capabilities does DECO possess that sets it apart from the competition? 

 

[00:05:29.110] – Steve Charles 

At DECO, we can customize our customers’ needs. We’re a large company able to do everything from start to finish. We’ll help the customer design the part, cast it, do sub-assemblies, secondary operations, and ship it to them. 

 

[00:05:47.030] – Jackie Bales 

So what are the main reasons customers should do business with DECO? 

 

[00:05:51.730] – Steve Charles 

At DECO, we’re a user-friendly company. We can work with our customers to produce a quality part at a competitive price and do it in a timely fashion. At DECO, we’re neither too big or too small to respond to our customer needs rapidly. We’re going to be around. We’ve been doing this for 53 years, and we expect to be doing it much longer in the future. We know zinc die casting and would like our customers to think zinc. 

 

[00:06:22.700] – Jackie Bales 

Thanks, Steve, for teaching us all how to think zinc and for sharing the zinc die casting products and solutions you’re creating at DECO. Fascinating. 

 

[00:06:29.600] – Steve Charles 

Thank you, Jackie. Come visit us sometime at DECO Products. 

 

[00:06:34.170] – Jackie Bales 

Thank you for watching. For 21st Century Business, I’m Jackie Bales. 

Deco Products has been a “Made in USA” zinc die casting manufacturer since 1960.

Deco Products provides exceptional service and quality products for the a multitude of industries. A few services Deco Products provides are custom precision engineered zinc die casting, powder coating, assembly, CNC Machining, and DFM-Part Design. Deco has been a stable and reliable supplier to the industry and continuously strives for being the best value for its key partner/customers.

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