Headquartered in Warminster, Pennsylvania, CRC® Industries is a longtime global manufacturer and supplier of industrial chemical solutions for maintenance and repair operations on marine, electrical, industrial, automotive, and aviation equipment.
Over the years, the company has developed some impressive degreasers that are used across the globe. That may sound like a good thing, but it implies something not so good concerning the cost of the organization’s products: With its intercontinental manufacturing centers and logistical infrastructure that spans much of the globe, CRC Industries has high overhead, part of the cost of which is passed on to the end user in the form of product prices.
There’s nothing unique about business overhead impacting prices; it happens at Ecolink and other solvent suppliers, too. The difference is that we employ a multi-step cost analysis to offer customers the very best price points for all products. Many people use us for degreaser replacement due to environmental reasons, reasons of human safety, and the efficacy of our cleaners. But product cost is also a reason to consider us as a replacement option.
Using Ecolink Degreaser Instead
There are over 90 products in CRC Industries’ CRC degreaser list — a number that includes differing supply volumes (2 gallons, 4 gallons, 6 gallons, etc.). In general, the products work well — CRC didn’t build its solvent empire on luck. However, considering how much CRC degreaser industrial organizations use, getting a product that offers the same efficacy for a better price is a major value proposition.
You would need to peer inside CRC Industries’ business model to see exactly which costs are tallied and how, but experience teaches us we can deliver degreasers that have the same or better efficacy, and same or better eco friendly profile, for a lower cost — typically 25%-50% less.
How We Deliver Cost Savings
When we think about degreaser cost, we often think of the cost of the product itself — the liquid we pour, spray, or wipe to remove greasy buildup. But the source of the product is also a factor that affects price. Additional factors include product packaging, method of degreaser application, whether spent degreaser is trapped or recycled, the shipping process, and more.
We take an end-to-end look at how you receive and use solvent to offer you a lower price than some of our biggest competitors, which, in addition to CRC Industries, include the following suppliers: American Polywater® Corp, AsahiKlin AK-225®, Enviro Tech®, Inland Technology®, LPS®, MicroCare®, Miller Stephenson®, Petroferm®, Safety Kleen®, Selig Industries®, Tech Spray®, and Zep®.
Interested in Quality for Less?
Paying less than you would for CRC degreaser doesn’t matter if you have to sacrifice product quality. With us, you don’t have to. You get a less expensive, eco friendly product that delivers the same or better performance.
To get started on replacing CRC degreaser, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to providing you with a dynamic, environmentally preferred industrial degreaser for a great price!
Solvent Solutions: Options for Reducing Harmful Chemicals
/in Solvents/by Industrial DegreasersIt’s a common situation at many organizations that have industrial solvent cleaning needs: Solvents containing harmful chemicals are used for business-critical cleaning operations, but they are used at the expense of potentially harming workers and the environment.
In this entry, we look at five options for reducing harmful chemicals during industrial parts cleaning operations — or reducing the capacity of the chemicals to cause harm — with options listed from most to least preferable based on cost, effectiveness, and overall feasibility.
The best option for reducing harmful chemicals is replacing solvents that contain them. Ecolink can tell you precisely which chemicals to avoid, and why. As a general point of reference, focus on avoiding solvents containing chemicals listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lists of Lists.
Using a sealed parts washer that doesn’t emit fumes is another good option, as long as your soiled parts can fit in the unit. Exposure may can further reduced if you can use a parts washer that recycles a single application of solvent, making it usable for multiple cleaning cycles.
If there’s no way to avoid Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) from a critical cleaner, putting a barrier between workers and HAPs in the form of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the next best option. High-level PPE is expensive, but so is paying workers comp claims and settling chemical injury lawsuits.
Air filtration systems that are specially designed to snare airborne contaminants can dramatically reduce HAP density in the air of the work environment. But it’s a strategy you should combine with others in this list to achieve a high level of protection. Combining targeted air filtration with PPE, for example, may all but eliminate the threat.
In industrial cleaning circles, the term “sealed glove box” refers to a relatively small, sealed glass unit that has built-in holes through which laboratory grade gloves can reach inside, and manipulate objects. A sealed glove box could be used to increase safety when cleaning with toxic substances. However, the cleaning operation would be slow, and laboratory grade glove boxes can be quite costly.
Shopping for Non-Toxic Chemicals?
If so, Ecolink is a great destination to find them. There are lots of options for reducing harmful chemicals from industrial cleaners, but replacing them with safer cleaners is the most effective by far.
This is what we help companies do, providing stock and custom solutions that have as much cleaning power but a better safety profile than many old generation solvents. Before purchasing, request a free product sample to see how well one of our solutions really works — no strings attached.
To get started on reducing harmful chemicals by replacing toxic cleaners, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to helping you improve chemical safety in the workplace!
Safer Industrial Chemicals: When OSHA Does the Talking
/in Industrial Degreasers/by Industrial DegreasersEach year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hands out millions of dollars in fines to organizations across the U.S. for safety violations in the workplace. Among the possible violations is the use of toxic chemicals, or the failure to implement proper safety measures when using dangerous chemicals.
OSHA Chemical Safety Cases
When we at Ecolink talk about using safer industrial chemicals, we often discuss benefits safer chemicals have for the short-term and long-term health of workers. Because we’re not a regulatory agency, we often stop short of discussing penalties that could result from not using safer industrial chemicals or more effective protective measures against chemical exposure.
However, while it’s our business to levy fines, the fines OSHA levies are public record, and deserve to be discussed to show the financial fallout that can result from companies violating OSHA chemical safety rules. Below are four recent cases that show how costly violations can be.
In summer 2016, the South Jersey polymer manufacturer was fined six figures for “three repeat and eight serious safety violations.”
In the official report, OSHA states, “Our inspectors focused on vinylidene fluoride, a liquified flammable gas, [which] poses serious safety and health risks to employees, including fire and explosion hazards, frostbite, skin and lung irritation, and liver damage associated with chronic exposures. An effective process safety management program is needed to protect workers and prevent the catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals.”
In autumn 2016, the Louisiana-based chemical manufacturer was fined nearly six figures for “nine serious and two other violations”.
According to the official report, OSHA explains that, “The violations found… are disturbing. Not inspecting safety relief valves endangers workers and could have catastrophic consequences… This employer must take all necessary steps to correct these issues and take the safety of its workers seriously.”
In spring 2016, the chemical manufacturer received a nearly six-figure fine for “14 serious violations”.
From OSHA’s official report: “When highly hazardous chemicals are not properly controlled, there is a potential for unintentional release, which could result in serious health and safety implications for workers and the neighboring community… Companies that manufacture chemicals must thoroughly train workers and monitor procedures used in the process for needed changes.”
In summer 2016, Quest Diagnostics was find six figures for chemical hazard violations at a Shelton, Connecticut, location.
As OSHA’s official report explains, “A laboratory chemical hygiene plan is not a paper exercise. It’s a continuous ongoing process that is key to preventing employees from being sickened by the hazardous chemicals with which they work. Our inspection found several serious deficiencies concerning the Shelton laboratory. For the safety and health of its employees, Quest must ensure that correct and effective safeguards are in place and in use at all its laboratories.
Conclusion
When considering the potential cost of chemical safety violations, OSHA fines are just the beginning. There’s also sick days, workers compensation, chemical injury lawsuits, and damaged business to consider.
It should also be noted that OSHA fines organizations repeatedly, until they fix the cause(s) of the initial fine. In combination, these factors can truly decimate a bottom line and literally force the use of safer industrial chemicals and/or better protective measures.
The best way to avoid the multifarious financial drawbacks of toxic chemicals is using safer industrial chemicals. This is what we specialize in, helping organizations replace toxic solvents with ones that are just as powerful, have a better safety profile, and may even cost less. To inquire about our solutions, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form.
TCE Facts: How TCE Damages Health
/in TCE/by Industrial DegreasersThousands of chemical injury lawsuits are filed every year against employers in the U.S. In some cases, the plaintiff walks away with a multi-million dollar settlement, but it’s hard to be envious of the person.
When this level of compensation is awarded, the plaintiff typically has chronic injuries that reduce quality of life, permanently reduce or eliminate earning power, and may even cause him to be on his deathbed, dying of chemical injuries during the lawsuit settlement phase, never to see a cent of the big payout.
It’s a bleak assessment of what can happen when a worker suffers chronic TCE exposure over a period of many months or years. But it’s also a truthful portrait of what can happen. Just ask the thousands of families who have lost a loved one due to toxic effects TCE or a similarly dangerous solvent have on the body.
TCE and Human Health
TCE is an initialism that stands for “Tetrachloroethylene” — a toxic chlorocarbon with the chemical formula Cl2C=CCl2. TCE also goes by the names “tetrachloroethene”, “perchloroethylene”, “perc”, and “PERC”.
Regardless of what you call it, TCE has a long list of negative effects on the body, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorizing the substance as “cancerous by all routes of exposure” in 2011. Nearly six years later, some organizations are still using TCE via methods and in quantities that have a deleterious effect on the health of workers. Like many other toxic chemicals used in industry, TCE produces both acute and chronic effects due to temporary and chronic exposure, respectively.
TCE Facts: Acute Exposure
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) — a federal public health agency that operates as a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — acute exposure to TCE can cause health conditions including but not limited to:
For more information on effects of acute TCE exposure, visit the ATSDR’s TCE page.
TCE Facts: Chronic Exposure
The ATSDR reports that chronic exposure to TCE can cause health conditions including but not limited to:
For more information on effects of chronic TCE exposure, visit the ATSDR’s TCE page.
These TCE facts about human health should move organizations that use TCE to replace the solution with one that has a better safety profile. Using green chemistry, Ecolink offers an array of industrial solvents that meet this description and can provide green custom solvents, as well.
Contact Us Today
For more information about TCE facts or to order a replacement for TCE solvent, call Ecolink today at (800) 563-1305, or fill out our contact form. For over 25 years, we’ve helped organizations become better stewards to their workers and the environment by providing low-cost, highly effective, environmentally preferred industrial solvents. We’d love to help you do the same!
Choosing a TCE Replacement Chemical
/in TCE/by Industrial DegreasersThe chemical compound trichloroethylene (TCE) is a halocarbon whose long history as an industrial solvent is gradually coming to an end. The popular solvent isn’t officially on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Lists of Lists, but it seems to be well on its way there.
According to ChemInfo — a provider of equipment, control systems, and instrumentation to industrial chemical users — in 2011, the EPA revealed that “About 250 million pounds of TCE are produced in or imported into the U.S. every year.” Also in 2011, the EPA categorized TCE as “cancerous by all routes of exposure.” It’s the proverbial equivalent of getting sprayed by a blowtorch; wherever it touches is harmed.
Significant New Use Rule
The chemical danger TCE poses moved the EPA to release “a final Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for TCE, stating any company that manufactures, imports, or processes TCE for use in a consumer product must notify the agency 90 days in advance.” Furthermore, “The SNUR exempts the use of TCE in several cases, including cleaners and solvent degreasers, because these ongoing uses cannot be subject to a SNUR.”
If your organization is in a loophole the SNUR creates, you may not have to hassle with the notification of usage described above, but choosing a TCE replacement chemical is still in your financial best interest, especially in the long run. When you do a common sense cost calculation of the benefits of using TCE solvent versus a low-toxic TCE replacement — such as a solvent from the Fluosolv line — the latter option brings a sunnier outlook.
The Health Impact of TCE
To list and describe the negative health effects of TCE would require a long whitepaper. We’ll truncate the information, listing the general types of physiological damage acute and chronic exposure to TCE causes:
If you routinely work in an environment where TCE degreaser is applied, you’re likely to be one miserable individual before all is said and done. Neither will your employer be happy, as it financially absorbs sick days, pays a workers compensation claim, and settles a chemical injury lawsuit that result from the exposure. Add in the negative publicity the lawsuit could generate, and you have four very good reasons to pursue a TCE replacement Chemical.
Need a TCE Replacement Chemical?
If so, don’t wait for the EPA to force your hand. Ecolink’s line of NuGenTec FluoSolv™ solvents are suitable TCE solvent replacements in two important respects: chemical efficacy and human safety. FluoSolv™ CX, for example, has no “chronic or acute toxicity associated with them which makes it a worker friendly solvent.”
To get started on selecting a TCE replacement chemical that’s better for the health of your workers and the long-term finances of your organization, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to presenting options that offer the same or better efficacy than TCE, without as many safety concerns.
Replacing CRC Degreaser With Ecolink: What You Need to Know
/in Degreasing Agents/by Industrial DegreasersHeadquartered in Warminster, Pennsylvania, CRC® Industries is a longtime global manufacturer and supplier of industrial chemical solutions for maintenance and repair operations on marine, electrical, industrial, automotive, and aviation equipment.
Over the years, the company has developed some impressive degreasers that are used across the globe. That may sound like a good thing, but it implies something not so good concerning the cost of the organization’s products: With its intercontinental manufacturing centers and logistical infrastructure that spans much of the globe, CRC Industries has high overhead, part of the cost of which is passed on to the end user in the form of product prices.
There’s nothing unique about business overhead impacting prices; it happens at Ecolink and other solvent suppliers, too. The difference is that we employ a multi-step cost analysis to offer customers the very best price points for all products. Many people use us for degreaser replacement due to environmental reasons, reasons of human safety, and the efficacy of our cleaners. But product cost is also a reason to consider us as a replacement option.
Using Ecolink Degreaser Instead
There are over 90 products in CRC Industries’ CRC degreaser list — a number that includes differing supply volumes (2 gallons, 4 gallons, 6 gallons, etc.). In general, the products work well — CRC didn’t build its solvent empire on luck. However, considering how much CRC degreaser industrial organizations use, getting a product that offers the same efficacy for a better price is a major value proposition.
You would need to peer inside CRC Industries’ business model to see exactly which costs are tallied and how, but experience teaches us we can deliver degreasers that have the same or better efficacy, and same or better eco friendly profile, for a lower cost — typically 25%-50% less.
How We Deliver Cost Savings
When we think about degreaser cost, we often think of the cost of the product itself — the liquid we pour, spray, or wipe to remove greasy buildup. But the source of the product is also a factor that affects price. Additional factors include product packaging, method of degreaser application, whether spent degreaser is trapped or recycled, the shipping process, and more.
We take an end-to-end look at how you receive and use solvent to offer you a lower price than some of our biggest competitors, which, in addition to CRC Industries, include the following suppliers: American Polywater® Corp, AsahiKlin AK-225®, Enviro Tech®, Inland Technology®, LPS®, MicroCare®, Miller Stephenson®, Petroferm®, Safety Kleen®, Selig Industries®, Tech Spray®, and Zep®.
Interested in Quality for Less?
Paying less than you would for CRC degreaser doesn’t matter if you have to sacrifice product quality. With us, you don’t have to. You get a less expensive, eco friendly product that delivers the same or better performance.
To get started on replacing CRC degreaser, call us today at (800) 563-1305, or send us an email through our contact form. We look forward to providing you with a dynamic, environmentally preferred industrial degreaser for a great price!