Detroit-Based Kolene Corporation Celebrates 75 Years

DETROIT, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kolene Corporation, a global leader in manufacturing cleaning processes, will mark its 75th anniversary as a Detroit-based, family-owned business on March 18.

Founded by John H. Shoemaker, the company today boasts its third generation Chairman and CEO Roger L. Shoemaker and includes his two sons Peter and Tim and Roger's brother Richard who sits on the board of directors.

"Our diverse portfolio of process technologies are at work providing new technology solutions to a diverse group of industries, ranging from locomotive and aircraft engines to dental braces to coronary stents," according to Roger L. Shoemaker, Chairman and CEO.  "Today, our clients include Alcoa, Boeing, Allegheny Technologies, Inc., Carpenter Technologies, AK Steel, Tinker AFB, and the U. S. Army's Depot at Anniston, Alabama, among others."

Today, Kolene's more than 30 staff members  includes scientists, engineers, and production process experts responding to a global customer base.  The company provides integrated cleaning systems based on application-specific process analysis.  Their technological know-how spans across multiple industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, foundry, stainless steel and general manufacturing industries.  The result is optimized process equipment paired with unique molten salt chemistry.  This provides sole-source dependability, reproducibility, and performance.  Ongoing technical service and support assures long-term process viability.

Shoemaker noted the company is continuing to provide global expertise through long term customer partnering throughout a product's life cycle, including its initial manufacture, life cycle maintenance and finally, component rebuild/reset/recap with Kolene's "Extreme Cleaning Technologies®".  A few examples of cleaning applications include: descaling stainless steel, stripping paint and powder coatings, cleaning castings, removing forming and forging lubricants, and cleaning engine cores for rebuild.

Among Kolene's early clients was the U. S. Navy in World War II who approached Kolene with a challenge to prepare cast iron bearing shells so that lead could replace tin, which was unavailable during the Far East Campaign of the war.  The breakthrough answer from Kolene was a series of molten salts which quickly became the standard for the Navy and its subcontractors. This process is still widely specified today for cleaning iron castings.  Kolene remains active in defense applications with a system that cleans diesel engine components during overhaul and reset installed at the U.S. Army Depot at Anniston, Alabama. The Kolene process produces clean parts in minutes compared to hours for the old technology it replaced.   In addition to rapid component turnaround, the automated system is more economical to operate, produces more consistent results, and significantly reduces the volume of hazardous waste requiring treatment or disposal.

About Kolene Corporation

For 75 years, Detroit based Kolene Corporation has supplied equipment, specialty chemicals, and complete treatment processes for cleaning and conditioning both ferrous and non-ferrous metal surfaces. The company's products are used throughout the world for a wide range of applications, including casting cleaning, alloy de-scaling, paint stripping, the cleaning of engine components for engine rebuilding, and many other industrial and military applications.

SOURCE Kolene Corporation