Tough-As-Nails Paint

Bill Seto, owner of Suwannee Equipment in Live Oak, Fla., will be one of the first to admit that abundant sunshine might be good for Florida tourism, but it’s hard on paint. Equipment, he says, “starts fading the minute you park it outside.”

AGCO has built a new $40 million, 200,000-square-foot paint facility at its plant in Hesston, Kan.

Paint damage effects appearance, performance and equipment value. Now AGCO has built a new $40 million, 200,000-square-foot paint facility at its plant in Hesston, Kan.

The new E-coat and powder paint system is the first of its kind for the farm equipment manufacturing industry, and will improve performance and longevity for the full offering of equipment manufactured at Hesston.

Nearly 75% of components go through the 17-step E-coat process by passing through 15 different dip tanks to remove all rust, scale and laser oxides. The remaining 25% of parts are painted using a liquid coating system.

The process takes approximately 41/2 hours and results in a finish with increased resistance to corrosion, ultraviolet light and weathering. The new system is efficient and more environmentally friendly than older paint processes also, reducing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) by approximately 75% and recovering nearly all the paint that doesn’t transfer to the component.

For more, see http://www.myFarmLife.com/advantage/agco-equipment-features-tough-as-nails-paint/.