Looking for a Contractor?
Looking for a Contractor?

Alchatek Blog

Alchemy Spetec – Behind the Scenes

Posted by Andy Powell on Dec 11, 2017 12:26:01 PM

Behind the Scenes-banner (3).png

Many distributors and contractors are familiar with the Alchemy-Spetec brand.  One thing we are well known for is consistency of our products.  Let’s take a look behind the scenes at how we make this happen.

Behind the Scenes-blog-1.pngIn House QC

Alchemy-Spetec manufactures all of our polyurethane products as well as pump flush and parts cleaning solvents. Extensive quality control is in place to insure that we achieve the same results in spec every time.  QC is monitored from the moment we receive raw materials, continued throughout the production of finished goods, and completed when our finished products leave our dock.

Raw Materials – Receiving, Testing, and Storage

Incoming raw materials are checked against the open purchase order to make sure we are receiving what we ordered and in the right quantity.

Visual inspection is performed to make sure that raw materials are undamaged.  Once steps 1 and 2 are completed, the goods are signed for and the open purchase order is considered received.

All raw materials are weighed and compared against the stated net and gross weights.  All scales within our facility are certified per the required basis and duly recorded.

Certificates of Analysis (C of A) are checked to make sure material is stated to be in spec from the chemical manufacturer, then the C of A is filed in the C of A log book.

Certain raw materials have specifications for minimum allowable water content.  There are typically microscopic quantities of water in almost all chemicals, usually measurable in parts per million (PPM).  The C of A is checked and then we do an in-house titration of those specific chemicals to determine the amount of water present.  This is important because some of our polyurethanes are water activated and other polyurethanes we manufacture (slab lifting polys) use water as a blowing agent.  Once the materials pass this incoming QC titration they are put into storage for manufacturing.

Other raw materials we use are temperature sensitive.  Alchemy-Spetec has warm rooms and hot rooms for storing those specific raw materials to prevent them from crystallization.

Production of Finished Goods

Written Systems

There are written systems in place for the production of each finished product that we manufacture.  Production employees are all cross trained and tested on a monthly basis to ensure they understand the systems in place and can follow them accordingly.  A production manager is always on the floor supervising the batching of materials.  Raw material inventories are checked daily on the manufacturing computer system and also physically checked every Monday.  Any discrepancy in raw material weight can be back tracked to determine where it went into a batch. There are allowable tolerances for each ingredient in our finished products but we track it and record it accordingly. Our entire manufacturing process is recorded at all times by up to 12 high definition cameras.  Packaging is done on certified scales; materials are package accordingly into different containers depending on the product, including: Quart Cans,1 Gallon Cans, 5 Gallon Pails, 55 Gallon drums, and 250 Gallon totes.

QC Procedures for Finished Goods

It is the written policy of Alchemy-Spetec that no finished goods will leave our facility unless they pass stringent QC testing.

Testing

Samples are drawn from every batch of material and tested in a controlled 77° F environment.  There can be as many as 12 tests done depending on the product; here are a few of them:

  1. Rheology – materials tested for viscosity in centipoises at different temperatures
  2. Titration – finished goods tested for water content
  3. Reaction profile – materials reacted in the lab and tested for crème time, rise time, tack-free time
  4. Reacted materials are tested for compression strength, expansion, density, and permeation in sand for certain polymers

Documentation

A material testing worksheet is created for each finished goods batch.  That worksheet is filled out by hand during the testing, given a serial number, and then entered into our database.  The finished goods are given a Batch # which is printed on every label affixed to the packaged finished goods.

Retained Samples

A retained sample is collected from every batch of finished goods we produce.  That retained sample will be labeled with the corresponding batch number and then placed into controlled storage.  If there is ever a problem in the field, the contractor can read us the batch number from the package and we can look that up in our database, pull the retained sample, and test the sample in the lab again through the full QC process.

Conclusion

We also have to be experts on how our products are used in the field.  Preparing grouting plans and consulting on projects is part of our daily routine.

Want more information on Alchemy-Spetec products?

Download the Info-Packed Geotech Product Catalog!

Download the Info-Packed Leak Seal Product Catalog!

Topics: All Posts