Enthone Inc., a business of Cookson Electronics, recently celebrated the grand opening of its advanced plating applications laboratory located at the company’s West Haven, CT, facility.

Enthone Inc., a business of Cookson Electronics, recently celebrated the grand opening of its advanced plating applications laboratory located at the company’s West Haven, CT, facility. More than 150 guests, including customers, state and local government officials, media and company employees attended the event. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by tours of the applications laboratory and a buffet luncheon.

The mission of the West Haven Applications Laboratory and its staff includes:

• Evaluating and validating Enthone processes prior to beta-site field testing.
• In-depth training and demonstration of process capabilities to Enthone personnel and select customers.
• Identifying and implementing the best processing methodologies and operating windows for Enthone's best-in-class, new and emerging technologies.
• Working collaboratively with key customers to develop unique plating solutions.
• Training the industry's next generation of plating engineers via internship programs established with universities and colleges.

The West Haven Applications Laboratory also will serve as the central location for the Enthone Americas Plating Academy. The Academy is the key training program for employees and select customers to gain technical knowledge about the company's processes and technologies. Training modules range from obtaining a basic understanding of Enthone best-in-class processes, to acquiring comprehensive, advanced training on specific troubleshooting and preventative maintenance procedures for a particular application.

The state-of-the-art applications laboratory houses multiple high-performance plating lines that enable processing of Enthone functional, decorative and electronic coatings that deliver corrosion protection, wear resistance and superior aesthetics on a variety of parts used in automotive, plumbing, printed wiring board (PWB), and other surface finishing applications. Specifically, dedicated plating lines for Enthone plating-on-plastics, copper/nickel/chrome, passivation processes, surface preparation chemistry, zinc and zinc alloys, hard chrome and electroless nickel have been installed. Additionally, lines for connector and leadframe precious and base metal plating, as well as PWB fabrication final finishes, oxide replacement alternatives and metallization processes, are fully operational.

The Enthone West Haven Applications Laboratory is operated by Enthone's Corporate Plating Academy Engineers, as well as chemical technicians solely dedicated to the operation of the applications laboratory.

For more information, visit www.enthone.com.