Inside the Permagard Lab: Precision, Quality, and Craftsmanship
In the world of paint protection, few products stand out as much as Permagard. Celebrating our 27th year in business, quality has been a hallmark for us since the very beginning. To this day, Luc d’Argencé (Permagard’s CEO & Founder) still manufactures Permagard’s products at our Permagard Headquarters in Miami, Florida, USA, to ensure the highest quality and reliability among all of our products for our customers. All of our products and processes are also ISO 9001 certified, ensuring the absolute best practices are maintained throughout our business. But did you know that each Permagard product is manufactured, bottled, and prepared by hand? In this article, we will take a look at the processes involved in producing Permagard products with zero defects, all handmade in Miami, Florida, of the United States of America.
The Craftsmanship Behind Permagard
Each Permagard product is precisely manufactured with the correct amount of raw materials every time to ensure repeat success. Luc d’Argencé meticulously follows his formulas each time to provide Permagard with its high-quality products. Each raw material is controlled by certificates of analysis and registered for traceability to ensure the highest quality. In addition to using only the highest-quality raw materials for manufacturing Permagard products, an extreme water filtering process is also utilized during the manufacturing process, ensuring no harsh minerals or potential chemicals contaminate the products’ batches. After each product is manufactured, each one is tested on brand new painted panels to test their efficacy, and samples from the batch are kept in our lab for a minimum of 5 years for quality control needs over time. For shelf-life extension requests, these samples are tested once again on brand new painted panels for efficiency, prior to remitting an extension on shelf life. After each product has been created with the raw materials, and is thoroughly mixed, the filling process can begin. Each Permagard product has a different viscosity, and therefore, the proper machine must be used to ensure the exact volume is met each time for every bottle of product.
Bottling Permagard Products
For our higher viscosity Permagard products, such as Service Treatment, Treatment for Slightly Damaged Surfaces, Treatment for Very Damaged Surfaces, Cleaner for Treated Surfaces, and Reactive Polymer, a compressed-air filling machine must be used. This machine is entirely powered by air and requires no electrical connection to use it. It’s pretty impressive! After the product has been thoroughly mixed in its drum, it is poured into the funnel attached to the machine. After the entire funnel has been filled with product, turning the dial attachment on the back of the machine will adjust the volume of product distributed into the bottle. Once the correct volume has been set on the dial, you can begin filling! The machine operates entirely with one pedal that is held down for the duration of the filling process, using the compressed air to distribute the product out of the funnel and into the bottle. There is even a tiny knob on the back of the machine that controls the speed at which the product is filled! After the bottle has been filled, release the pedal and the machine will refill its air capacity, ready to fill the next bottle.
For our lower viscosity Permagard products, such as Shampoo for Painted Surfaces, Plastic & Vinyl Protector, and Leather & Fabric Protector, a smaller, electrically powered siphon filling machine is used. After the product has been thoroughly mixed in its drum, a filling hose is dropped into the barrel. After running the machine for a couple of filling cycles, the product will make its way from the filling hose in the barrel, siphoning through the machine, and out the other end of the filling hose, which fills the bottles with product. Once the siphon hose is completely filled, the volume adjustments can be made. It’s also important to adjust the filling speed as well during this step. For example, the Shampoo for Painted Surfaces and Leather & Fabric Protector are very foamy products and if you have the speed set too high, the product will come out too fast and make a huge mess! Therefore, it is imperative to use the right speed for each product to prevent spillage.
After the bottle has been filled with product, regardless of which machine was used, it must be weighed on our ISO 9001-verified production scale to ensure the correct amount of product was distributed into the bottle. This scale, including our larger scales that are used for weighing drums of product during the manufacturing process and weighing pallets of completed product orders, are all serviced by an independent scale maintenance company. This company ensures that all of our scales are working correctly for their intended purposes and that no issues are present at the time of maintenance. The service logs are recorded into the ISO 9001 QMS (Quality Management System) and are included in the annual audit for our ISO 9001 recertification.
Sealing & Capping Permagard Products
After the bottle has been weighed and the amount has been verified, the bottle can now be capped with the correct bottle cap. After the bottle has been capped, it is then sealed using our sealing machine. The machine heats up the bottle cap, removing the adhesive from the seal on the cap, and then sealing the seal onto the bottle. The bottle is then labeled on our label machine (if it is a larger order) or the label is applied by hand for smaller orders. For our smaller orders, our products are pulled from our stock on hand to fulfill the order. Finally, the seal must be checked to ensure it sealed onto the bottle correctly. If the bottle houses one of our higher viscosity products, it must have the cap that sealed the bottle removed, and a spout/pouring cap must be screwed onto the bottle.
Final Quality Check
After all of these steps have been completed, the final quality check must take place. This is to ensure that the seal is correctly sealed onto the bottle, the label is centered correctly onto the bottle, and that the spout/pouring cap is correctly tightened by hand. Finally, the batch sticker can be applied to the back of the product label. The batch sticker provides the Permagard reference code for the product, the batch number for the product, and the expiration of the product. Once that is completed (drum roll please!), you have a perfect, handmade Permagard product, ready to be shipped to one of our many great Permagardians around the world!
Proudly Handmade in the USA
Here at Permagard Headquarters, we are proud to produce every one of our great Permagard products by hand. From the manufacturing process to the final quality check, every step is meticulously completed with human hands and a human mind. And from all of us at Permagard Headquarters in Miami, Florida, of the United States of America, we believe that makes Permagard products something truly special in these fast-growing times.
If you would like to learn more about what makes Permagard’s handmade, USA-made products so special to all of our Permagardians around the world, contact our headquarters office today at (305) 662-5070 for more information. It’s time to shine and see yourself in your brand!
