Mid-life crisis? No way! says NGL

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Now in its forties, the Nyon-based company has decided to celebrate in style by giving itself a makeover. Far from resting on the laurels of the past four successful decades, it is now focusing on two areas: full customer support and the development of new products.

The NGL Academy was founded a few years ago with the aim of providing training and information on products to customers, retailers and employees. The desire to share knowledge has now prompted the company to organise a series of “afterworks”, during which specific themes (e.g. industrial wastewater management) are discussed in the presence of an equipment manufacturer, a product user and a political representative in charge of the environment. Jacques Dubochet, Nobel prize-winner for chemistry in 2017, voluntarily describes how he overcame the fear of the dark he had as a child with the help of Copernicus and his explanations as to how the sun reappeared after the night. It is all a question of how we apprehend a problem: the better we understand a situation, the less we fear it. The whole point of the “afterworks” is thus to prompt customers to overcome their fears (the use of products of chemical origin often cause fear), and help them clearly identify their needs and steer them towards choosing the most appropriate products.

More efficient and safer
The past years have been marked by the group’s restructuring and the opening of many subsidiaries, the most recent being in Chicago in 2017. The shift is now towards product development. NGL is clearly stating its objectives for 2018: to place a new product on the market every six to eight weeks. Needless to say, the R&D department is running at full throttle. CEO, Jean-Michel Balmelle, recently remarked: “We’d like to celebrate our 40th anniversary by offering solutions that not only care more for people and the environment, but that also offer more efficiency”.

For the medical sector, the company is proposing the Galvex range of environmentally-friendly degreasing agents for removing light oils and polishing pastes in ultrasonic processes. Compatible with all types of material, these products guarantee totally effective grease removal from parts, including those with complex geometry. Also aimed at the medical field, the Decomet passivation process is used to remove imperfections (fragments of tools or iron particles) from parts’ surfaces. Thus free from residues, the surface will react with the air’s oxygen content to rapidly rebuild a compact, homogeneous and protective oxide layer.

New range for the watchmaking and jewellery sectors to be presented at SIAMS 
Many products aimed at these two sectors have gained in efficiency, while being kind to the environment. The new Schutzlack NGL Bleue, for example, was developed to temporarily protect some watchmaking parts (bridges, cases, case-middles) during machining or satin-finishing operations. Applied by spraying, dipping or brushing, it is not toxic for man and is easily removed in detergent. Quick drying in the ambient air helps save a lot of time between the various operations.

The newly developed Galvex TM is a mildly alkaline chemical solution used in the ultrasonic removal of polishing pastes. Compatible with all metals (cuprous, stainless steel, Zamak), it displays interesting properties, the main one being to avoid the renewed deposition of copper on Zamak. It thus makes it possible to clean different metals at the same time. Containing no harmful agents, Galvex TM constitutes an alternative to today’s Galvano TM.

Allstrip is primarily aimed at the jewellery sector. Serving as an adequate substitute for acetone, it is used to remove organic residues, such as glue, mastic and protective varnishes without eating into the substrate. Compatible with all metals, organic glass and mineral glass, it does not contain any halogenated products, NEP or modified alcohol.

NGL will also be presenting at SIAMS an after-sales range comprising Rubifin no.10 for cleaning and Rubifin no.3 for drying.

The range most recently developed by the company is fully consistent with its strategy to propose increasingly safe products. Uniceral 208 and Ceraltin 211 are used for “decoating”, in other words for removing the protective coating from some tools prior to resharpening. Until now, the use of heavy chemicals has been the norm. The new formulation is far less noxious, while ensuring excellent results. Total elimination of titanium- and aluminium-based coatings is ensured, there is no oxidisation phenomenon occurring on the substrate and the tool’s geometry is not affected.

The decreasing number of warning symbols on labels is proof that NGL products are becoming increasingly cleaner. “Our R&D department has done some excellent work and has prepared us for any changes in legislation”, commented Jean-Michel Balmelle.

Future development
The current situation is good, mainly in the medical and watchmaking industries. “Our company is currently active in around twenty or so industries. So there are still many fields to explore. This year, we aim to develop our core activities. As of next year, we will try to strengthen our presence in sectors that remain under-developed for the moment, or branch out into new ones. Please feel free to follow our latest news on our website and on our LinkedIn page“, the CEO concluded.

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