Customer & Product Showcase: TriCOL Reclaim

In the spirit of progress and responsiveness to the industry shift, AdTec II in Florida was looking to move away from their use of decorative hexavalent chromium to a safer, more cost effective, and similar performing trivalent alternative. Located in the Tampa area, AdTec II is a well-known plating shop delivering quality rack and barrel plating to customers across many industries. The state-of-the-art facility provides a full-spectrum solution to meet their customers’ electroplating needs as well as prompt and accurate estimating, technical assistance, and research and development.

Columbia is well known for its expertise on decorative trivalent chromium and offers an advanced chloride system with bright white LaB values, an easy-to-use liquid replenisher, and is the only trivalent process on the market offering reclaim capabilities. Adtec II spent time considering various systems and after comparing the data on cost and performance including color and color stability, the company chose to move forward with Columbia’s flagship TriCOL Reclaim® process.

The bath installation and start up was easy and Columbia’s technical team checked in with the shop on a on a regular basis after. During a follow up visit on site, Columbia’s Jeff Boehmer was talking with Adtec II’s plating manager who had previously had extensive experience with a competitor’s trivalent process prior to investigating Columbia’s TriCOL Reclaim® process. He commented to Jeff about how “unbelievably easy” the TriCOL® bath has been to use and maintain, a theme shared by other TriCOL® customers. He further shared the color was “the best they have seen from any trivalent chromium system on the market” and their customers fully approved of the switch. After experiencing such success with the switch to the TriCOL® system, the Adtec II team intends to continue to grow their trivalent chrome plating capabilities with their potential shop expansion in the future.

At Columbia Chemical, Simplifying Surface Finishing® is not just a tagline, but a purpose and passion. Adtec II’s quick and successful implementation of Columbia’s TriCOL® reclaim is another example of partnering for success. If you are ready to discuss the switch from hexavalent to trivalent chromium and discover why others are moving to TriCOL Reclaim®, contact us today.

RECENT UPDATE: Trivalent Chromium being called out in Automotive Specs

As the surface finishing industry continues to take on the shift from hexavalent to trivalent, one of the main considerations plating shop owners have been waiting for is a clear signal from automotive OEMs that the time is now. A recent webinar hosted by NASF has shed some insight on this long awaited signal.

From May 2025 NASF Public Policy Update: NASF members can view the webinar recording of the association’s recent trivalent chromium webinar, developed in collaboration with the Detroit-based Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). For the past three years NASF has been collaborating with the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), automotive OEMs, chemical suppliers, and finishing applicators to trivalent chromium coatings in the automotive supply chain.

Among the highlights of the webinar, which features a dozen panelists and a Q&A session from the automotive, supplier and plating community, were key remarks by industry colleagues from Toyota and General Motors, who reviewed emerging policies and timelines for transition from hexavalent to trivalent chromium for decorative plating and chromic acid etch, as well as eliminating PFAS in the supply chain.

NASF and AIAG have plans to continue the initiative and expand the discussion into 2026 on emerging OEM timelines, practical challenges and further opportunities for coordination.

If members have further questions or would like additional information on the project and outlook, please reach Christian Richter at crichter@thepolicygroup.com or Jeff Hannapel and jhannapel@thepolicygroup.com 

Did You Know? In addition to the TriCOL system’s ease-of-use and superior performance and color data, Columbia Chemical has received full performance and appearance approval by Stellantis for its TriCOL® decorative trivalent chrome plating process, is in the approval process with another major automotive OEM, and currently meets the performance and color requirements of additional trivalent chromium specifications.