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  • People
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  • Equipment
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  • Plastisols
  •    • Adhesives
  •    • Coatings
  •    • Foams
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  •    • Sealants & Encapsulants
  •    • Phthalate Free
  • Polyurethanes
  •    • Adhesives
  •    • Coatings
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  •    • Foams
  •    • Sealants & Encapsulants
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  • Consumer
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MarChem UV resistant material allows outdoor furniture / playground equipment manufacturer to exceed warranty claim and restore brand name.

Market: Outdoor Furniture and Playground Equipment

Customer Challenge: A leading manufacturer of vinyl coated outdoor furniture and playground equipment was experiencing problems with their product. This particular manufacturer warrants their goods to be defect free for a certain number of years and due to the fact that the color was fading on their furniture, they were receiving quite a few claims against this warranty.

MarChem Solution: MarChem’s sales and technical staff worked with the customer to find out exactly what was happening. They soon determined that the product was discoloring as a result of exposure to U.V. sunlight and atmospheric conditions. Unfortunately, certain colors were experiencing a significant loss of color before the warranty ran out. MarChem immediately started working on formulas that would improve the color fastness of the product. After initially developing some successful formulations, MarChem wanted to be absolutely certain that they solved the customer’s problem. This was done by investing the extra time and money to do additional testing, including laboratory based accelerated weathering and actual outdoor testing of their products.

Using its laboratory accelerated weathering equipment, MarChem was able to evaluate with confidence how its material would hold up in the elements. After a few iterations, MarChem came up with a formula that was colorfast beyond the customer’s warranty, under even the harshest UV and other weather conditions. In addition, MarChem was able to provide increased mildew and stain resistance; another problem common in this industry.

Customer Benefit: Warranty claims are costly, not only because the company must replace or repair the product at no charge, but also because the company suffers a public relations problem when their customers now view their product as inferior. This damage is hard to quantify, but the costs are often higher as a result of the lost revenue associated with a tainted company image and negative word of mouth. “MarChem saved our reputation in the industry by providing us a material we would not have to worry about”, stated the Materials Manager at this company. “Without MarChem’s help, we don’t know exactly how much damage our brand would have suffered in the marketplace.”.