What is Merriam-Webster's Definition of An Expert?

Expert – (adjective) – having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience.

While we can’t claim to be experts in everything, when you have a process problem that can benefit from an extra set of eyes or hands, that is where our skilled technical staff thrives.

Meet Your Problem Solvers

How do we define an expert?
1. Infinitely curious about how stuff works
2. Enjoys rolling up their sleeves and solving a problem that no one else can
3. Always enjoyed show and tell

Put this all together and you have an idea of what makes our Technical Team tick. Our team has built their street cred at several industry trade shows, presenting real life examples of how we have improved a process or increased productivity for our customers.

We put our veteran technical team head to head with rookies in our three application areas of cleaning, finishing and treating by asking them questions about themselves as well as their time in the industry.

Have a Hubbard-Hall Expert Speak at Your Next Event

Have a Hubbard-Hall Expert Speak at Your Next Event

Download our speaker booklet to see the various topics and bios on all of our experts.

  • Cleaning challenges, metal stripping, and aqueous vs solvent.
  • Metal finishing with heat treating and corrosion prevention.
  • Optimizing your wastewater treatment plan and staying compliant.
 

Conscious Cleaning Considerations

As seen in Product Finishing, Published 4/10/2023   Reassessing your cleaning process? Connor Callais of Hubbard-Hall offers an in-depth discussion of what you should keep in mind. Q: We’ve been having trouble getting good coverage in our immersion iron phosphate process before powder, resulting in several reworks and off-spec parts. This issue arose about the same time our supplier s... Read More
 

Hubbard-Hall wastewater treatment specialist Robin Deal discusses the latest trends in wastewater management. 

As seen in Products Finishing, Published April 1st, 2024 Edited by Scott Francis, Editor-In-Chief, Gardner Business Media As the EPA conducts fact-finding surveys in the metal finishing community regarding PFAS contamination, wastewater treatment is a growing concern for finishing operations. In this installment of Products Finishing’s On the Line interview column, we’re digging int... Read More
 

Regulatory Changes Drive Cleaning Companies' Collaboration

As seen in Products Finishing, Published February 27, 2024 Edited by Lori Beckman, Senior Editor, Production Machining Source: Jayco Cleaning Technologies Hubbard-Hall and Jayco Cleaning Technologies have collaborated to develop a solution for new regulatory changes. As the Environmental Protection Agency evaluates the impact of hazardous substances such as methylene chloride... Read More
 

Connecticut Businesses Join Forces for Educational Program

As seen in Products Finishing, Published 4/10/2023 Edited by Scott Francis , Editor-In-Chief, Gardner Business Media Photo Credit: Getty Images A group of rival businesses comes together to educate the next generation of metal finishers. Connecticut manufacturing is known for providing finishes for some of the most impressive products in the world including aerospace compo... Read More
 

Biological Wastewater Treatment for Finishing Applications

As seen in Finishing & Coating, September, 12th, 2023 With tightening limits on nutrients and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), is a small-scale biological system right for your industrial facility?We will explore the ins and outs of biological wastewater treatment and how it fits into the industrial world around us. We will look at system sizes and requirements, bacteria and their capabilit... Read More
 

Why Switch from Vapor Degreasing Solvents to Vacuum Assisted Aqueous Cleaning

As seen on https://jaycoclean.com/, February 2024 The landscape of industrial cleaning is rapidly changing, with increasing EPA regulations on solvents and a growing need for manufacturers to find alternative cleaning methods. Here is what parts cleaning experts Jeff Beard (Product and Business Development Manager for Jayco Cleaning Technologies) and Mike Valenti (Director of Cleaning Technologie... Read More
 

Changing Your Parts Cleaning Process to Meet New EPA Rules

BY TIM PENNINGTON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF As seen in Finishing & Coating, 19 FEBRUARY 2024 With the U.S. EPA proposing to ban all uses of trichloroethylene in cleaning and vapor degreasing, many finishers wonder what alternatives they may have.This action, taken under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), would ban TCE manufacture, processing, and distribution for all uses.We spoke with Jeff Dav... Read More
 

Bob's Brain: Future-proofing your wastewater system.

So when we look at manufacturing industries across the board, a lot of people plan for expansion and production, such as adding new lines increasing production hours, and that puts an extra strain on their wastewater systems. We want to future-proof our wastewater systems so that when we do those manufacturing increases, we don’t have to worry later down the line about if our wastewater syst... Read More
 

Bob's Brain: Metal finishing and what you need to know about rust prevention.

The most common type of corrosion – called atmospheric corrosion – occurs when a metal surface is exposed to oxygen and moisture which then causes a chemical reaction producing iron oxide or rust. For a metal finisher rust is a problem with real consequences. Here we are talking to Larry Ensley, Director of Technical Applications and sharing ideas on how to address it. Click to Downloa... Read More
 

Explaining the dirty details of better metal cleaning

A conversation with Hubbard-Hall’s Joshua McClellan As a Hubbard-Hall application engineer, Joshua works closely with customers to understand their specific operations and applications of cleaning chemistry to get better results with less chemistry. He has worked with multiple chemical businesses over his career, specializing in chemical application technologies. Download PDF What are the p... Read More
 

Bob's Brain: Heat Treating

The heart of industry, almost nothing can be manufactured without heat-treating. We recently caught up with Bob Farrell (Senior Vice President and Technical Director at Hubbard-Hall) and asked him a few questions about the heat-treat market, what he has seen in his 30 years of experience and what lies ahead for manufactures using these applications. Read More: Download the interview PDF Why are m... Read More
 

Bob's Brain: A Review of Functional and Decorative Black Oxide Coatings

Black oxide is the conversion of a base metal material to an oxide of that base metal material. A prime example would be Fe3O4, which is black iron oxide, otherwise known as magnetite; another is a CuO, or copper monoxide. It occurs when the chemicals react with a base material to form an oxide of the base’s primary constituent. In the case of stainless steel, not only does it form oxides, but i... Read More
 

Interview with Jerry: Cool facts about heat treat salts

A conversation with Hubbard Hall’s Jerry Dwyer Jerry Dwyer CEF, is Hubbard Hall’s market manager for product groups pertaining to heat treating, black oxide and phosphates. His background and experience have established him with knowledgeable insight into the world of heat treating and metal finishing. Dwyer specializes in the above processes and has over a thirty-year history in the heat trea... Read More
 

Myth #1

Myths of Cleaning Myth 1 of 8: Water is Obviously “Cheaper” than Solvents Regular city water alone won’t clean anything. It needs surfactants and detergents that lower surface tension and remove soils. These are consumed during cleaning and need replenishing. Higher temperatures are needed to activate cleaning chemistry, which is important for ensuring good wetting and evaporation after ... Read More
 

Myth #2

Myths of Cleaning Myth 2 of 8: Aqueous Systems Can’t Be Used in Critical Cleaning First, let’s be clear that “critical cleaning” has a very specific meaning. It refers to the removal of sub-micron particles and non-volatile residues. It’s required when any surface contamination would yield adverse effects. While many processes and products might qualify, the term is used particul... Read More
 

Myth #3

Myths of Cleaning Myth 3 of 8: Aqueous cleaning is always “safer” than solvent There’s a misapprehension that “Aqueous Cleaning” refers to cleaning with water. While water is involved, and under the right circumstances can be a solvent, in aqueous cleaning systems the water contains additives. These have several functions, such as lowering surface tension, creating chelation, (the dr... Read More
 

Myth #4

Myths of Cleaning Myth 4 of 8: Solvents are all BAD! “Solvent” is an extremely broad term. Any substance that will dissolve another is, technically, a solvent, and that includes water. However, in popular parlance, “solvent” often refers to chemicals that will dissolve oil and grease. Examples include acetone, isopropanol, ethanol and butyl acetate. If these names appear familiar it’s be... Read More
 

Myth #5

Myths of Cleaning Myth 5 of 8: Solvents will all be banned through government regulation It’s true that for some classes of solvents their use either has been or is in the process of being phased out. However, many others are still permitted, although in some cases there are regulations regarding aspects of usage like ventilation. In general, authorities like the EPA take the view that solve... Read More
 

Myth #6

Myths of Cleaning Myth 6 of 8: Solvent cleaning is always the most efficient process Solvents make very effective cleaners, in the right application. The key points to consider are, what is being cleaned, what is it being cleaned of, and what is it being cleaned for? Solvents are highly effective for dissolving oils and their low surface tension enables good penetration and evaporation. Solvent cl... Read More
 

Myth #7

Myths of Cleaning Myth 7 of 8: Market is Dominated by Aqueous Cleaning Compared to solvent cleaning, aqueous is still the newcomer, even though it has been in use for two decades. Use of aqueous cleaning is undoubtedly on the rise, but to say it dominates the market is just incorrect. Precision cleaning in particular, is a sector where solvent cleaning dominates. The key, when choosing a cleaning ... Read More
 

Myth #8

Myths of Cleaning Myth 8 of 8: Cleaning is All About Picking a Chemistry Chemistry is important for sure. The solvent or aqueous cleaner must be compatible with the soil or contamination you want to remove, but it’s more complicated than that. Consider also the material to be cleaned: some cleaners will damage some surfaces. Then there’s the degree of cleaning or cleanliness desired. O... Read More