QUALITY CONTROLS THE SALE

[Music] yes Oh sentiment please hello Joe how are you fine mr. Evans mr. Evans would like you to know al Wilson al this is John Evans our sales manager hello al nice to know you how do you do mr. Evans sit down won't you thank you well Joel how are things going you ought to be up to your ears and orders Freddie freeze right now it's funny you should ask about antifreeze sales mr. Evans because that's the reason Al and I are here today you see al is one of my good customers in fact one of my best customers I've been selling him antifreeze for a long time and I've always sold him on how good our products are now I'm convinced that our antifreeze is the best on the market and I know Al is too but you know he he sort of stumped me the other day when he asked me why our antifreeze is so good yeah just what are the facts mr. Evans that's what I need my business facts tell you the truth mr. Evans al caught me off base with his question I didn't know just how to answer him then I suddenly realized that if I couldn't answer that question probably I wasn't doing as good as selling job as I could if I knew my product from A to Z so I told Joe I'd like to take a trip through the plant mr. Evans and see how our products are made he said he thought that you might be able to fix it up for me he wants to go to fellows that's the best idea I've heard for a long time you're absolutely right in order for you both to do a good selling job you've got to know your product is good and you've got to know why it's good there's no doubt about it quality controls the sale but the real story is in the laboratory that's where product quality is born that's where new formulas are developed and tested and continuous tests are made to ensure uniform top quality in every can of antifreeze that you sell but let me call the lab and see if dr. white can show you around today well mr. Evans came through he's set up an appointment for Alan me to visit the laboratory that afternoon when we got there we met dr. wife the head of the laboratory well it's nice to have you fellows here mr. Evans tells me you want to find out why your antifreeze is a top quality product well the answers right here in this laboratory and I'll be glad to explain it to you here's what antifreeze is composed of either methanol or ethylene glycol inhibitors and reserve alkalinity agents Andy foaming agents and dye all these are compounded into the antifreeze that you sell we do two types of laboratory work here quality control on all products being manufactured and research and development on new antifreeze formulations I'd like to show you some of our quality control tests right now the first test is for the freezing point that's the fundamental stuff we must know how well antifreeze protects from freezing I'm going to drop this ordinary jar rubber into the container I'll tell you why in a minute this is the way we test we use the method of testing recommended by the American Society for testing materials this container is filled with a mixture of acetone and dry ice to get very low temperatures usually about a hundred degrees below zero Fahrenheit I'll show you how cold it is remember the jar rubber I dropped in here let's see what happens to it now it's frozen so hard it's breaks and pieces inside this container is a vacuum flask like this with antifreeze solution strong enough to protect it 25 degrees below zero as the temperature of the test sample changes it's indicated on graph paper by this automatic temperature record this line here shows the temperature drop as the graph paper move this pen records the temperature here's a graph on one test we just finished to the same solution see how the temperature went down this little bump in the line is the point where the test sample of antifreeze solution froze it froze at 26 and a half degrees below zero since a solution was prepared for protection at 25 degrees below zero we were almost exact with a good margin on the safe side the next test concerns heat instead of cold and is almost as important we need to check the reflux boiling point ethylene glycol commonly called permanent type antifreeze has a much higher boiling point than water therefore it won't boil away in the cooling system that's why one filling is good for an entire winter season we know the boiling points of both ethylene glycol and methanol antifreezes we use the boiling point test to detect any dilution or impurity here is how we run the test a measured amount of undiluted antifreeze is put in a flask and heat this glass tube which is fitted on the flask is a condenser the condenser is cooled by water flowing through the outer jacket any vapor rising from the heated mixture is condensed in this tube and drops back in the flask to keep the solution from changing in composition a thermometer is inserted through a special opening in the flask and immersed in the solution when the solution boils at the proper rate we can read the reflux boiling point from the thermometer the reflux boiling point of this sample of ethylene glycol antifreeze --is 328 degrees Fahrenheit that's just 116 degrees above the boiling point of water 328 degrees boy no wonder our permanent antifreeze won't boil away believe me I'm gonna use that to sell antifreeze to my customers here's another test I think you'll find interesting here's how we determine the specific gravity of the antifreeze this container of water is held automatically at 60 degrees Fahrenheit we make specific gravity tests on ethylene glycol antifreeze methanol antifreeze and our new experimental formulas this particular test is being run on methanol antifreeze this is an extremely accurate hydrometer the best that money can buy like these the solution with a hydrometer immersed in it has been in the bath long enough to reach the proper temperature notice that we're very precise in having both the solution and the hydrometer at the proper temperature using a cold hydrometer or testing the solution before the engine is warmed up our major causes of inaccurate testing of antifreeze in the field now we can read the specific gravity on the scale on the hydrometer this sample of methanol checks out okay with a specific gravity of point 806 specific gravity is another control test to check the purity and composition of the antifreeze now we're also interested in how Antibes acts in motion when your automobile engine is running the Coulomb is being churned at high speed by the water pump your antifreeze must be able to withstand all the sachet a ssin without excessive foam foaming reduces cooling efficiency and can force the cooler out the overflow pipe George here is working on one of the tests we run performing he has put a measured amount of antifreeze solution and a graduated cylinder then he places the cylinder in the valve which is constantly maintained at a hundred and eighty degrees Fahrenheit about the highest temperature for engine operation after the sample reaches the proper temperature he lowers this air diffusion to into the solution a definite measured volume of air is forced through the tube for five minutes to aerate the solution and induce foaming action like this can take place in your car engine air can get into your cooling system through a leaky head gasket faulty pump packing or any small opening after five minutes we read the measurement of foam on the graduated scale and subtract the original volume of antifreeze solution to get the amount of foam every batch of antifreeze must meet our rigid standards of low foaming before we send it out in the field do you fellows yourself how do you like that I bet the guy that puts this stuff in his car never dreams there's so much testing in back of it I sure didn't know about it they even test to see how much informed boy am I getting a good sales story yeah me too al sometimes you dealers are tougher to sell on the motorists come on now Joe you do alright go on please doctor like this is real interesting well there's plenty more to see this is the pH test it determines the amount of acidity or alkalinity in the antifreeze solutions this is a pH meter a very sensitive instrument that indicates the exact degree of either acidity or alkalinity look I'll show you the pH meter reads from zero to fourteen a reading of one or less means strong acid while 14 is extremely alkaline a neutral solution is right in the middle at 17 let me illustrate with a familiar product this is ordinary vinegar that you'll find in every home now let's immerse the electrode in the vinegar and see what happens pH meter will tell whether vinegar is acid or alkaline and to what degree see the needle jump over to the left well here's our reading showing that vinegar has a pH value of 2.6 since that number is below 7 it indicates that vinegar is acid we've been testing vinegar for acidity that's rather simple but getting the right coolant for an automobile engine is really complex you see there various metals in the cooling system steel cast iron solder brass aluminum alloys and copper acids attacks some and strong alkalis attack others your antifreeze is carefully inhibited to make it mildly alkaline and to give it a reserved alkalinity to keep it that way this retires corrosion of all metals in the system with this problem in mind let's check this sample of ethylene glycol antifreeze the ethylene glycol antifreeze is mixed with water and about the same proportions as it would be mixed in a cooling system let's put the electrodes in this solution and see what happens as you can see the needle swings over to the right this solution has a pH of 7.9 now since that pH numbers above 7 we know that this antifreeze solution is alkaline but we don't know yet how much reserve out we have to keep it mildly alkaline so we start adding acid to the solution by turning the stopcock here see the acid start to drop into the beaker we continue to add acid until we get a pH reading of 5.5 which shows that the alkaline reserve is gone at this point we stop adding acid and measure the amount of acid that it took to change this solution from a pH of 7.9 to a ph of 5.5 now if we translate this small sample into the amount of antifreeze and the automobile radiator it takes this much acid to destroy the reserve alkalinity now that seems like a lot but in less than a year of driving your car can get that much acid from blow-by gases and other contaminants I never dreamed there was so much science back of antifreeze now I know why it pays to handle a really good product well your customers deserve good antifreeze so we're always experimenting with new formulas to see that they get the best I'd like to show you some of our research and development work now our biggest continuing research job is preventing corrosion our antifreeze contains the best corrosion inhibitors no but we're always working on better and finer compounds now here's a corrosion test we run on standard products now being marketed and on new formulations we run corrosion tests on strips of the various metals found in the cooling system steel cast iron solder brass aluminum alloy and copper these strips are kept in what is called a desiccator to keep them perfectly dry until they're ready for use each clean strip is accurately weighed on this precise analytical balance before the test and the exact weight noted as you see Tom doing here then the strips are carefully assembled and suspended in the antifreeze solution after that the flask with the antifreeze solution and the metal test strips are placed in an oven and heated to temperature over a hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit after seven days the class to take it from the other the metal strips disassembled and carefully drive and each strip weighed again the difference in the weights before and after determines the amount of corrosion that has taken place we also examine the samples visually for corrosive oxidation now there's another type of corrosion test over here that I'd like to show you test samples of the same metals we used before are weighed assembled and placed in these beakers with a measured amount of antifreeze solution a condenser assembly like the one we used on the boiling point test is fitted to the top of each beaker then the measured volume of air is forced into the solution through a forest glass tube the tests are heated to 160 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of 14 days then the strips are removed disassembled dried weighed and inspected visually to determine the amount of corrosion that has taken place there's still another test that I think you boys will find interesting let's walk over to our pilot plant this is the 2500 our promotion test it takes months to finish and each test is independently monitored antifreeze solutions are pumped from this reservoir to a regular automobile radiation by a standard automobile water from for the duration of the test this eating unit keeps the solution at a temperature of a hundred sixty degrees test washers of the different metals are suspended in the solution not only are these washers weighed before and after the test but they're photographed every 500 hours and a regular visual record of corrosion and interior ation is kept in this file periodically the tests are shut down and allowed to stand just as a car does we've taken many steps to simulate actual driving conditions every week each radiator solution is tested for pH reserve alkalinity and foaming as you've already seen and an accurate record is kept of any changes in the antifreeze solution at the end of 2500 hours the entire test is disassembled the radiator and the rubber hoses are cut apart the water pumps are disassembled each part is carefully inspected to see if corrosion or deterioration has taken place this is a very comprehensive laboratory test which comes close to engine condition as a final check after all the other tests you've seen the antifreeze products are actually tested in cars on the road all these tests use searching anything to chance to you seems to me like our antifreeze is tested for just about everything I really know what quality means well you've seen some of our most important basic tests here but you haven't seen at all by a long shot through our tests on raw materials dyes and inhibitors our laboratory is working for quality products in every direction but I believe what you've seen here today will give you a broad picture of the foundation of quality gee thanks a lot for showing us around the laboratory dr. Boyd I certainly have learned about quality in fact I've learned more about antifreeze today than I ever found out in 20 years of business I only hope I can remember most of it so I can use it in selling my customers I think I can help you out there here's a booklet for each of you it summarizes everything that you've seen today it gives photos and explanations of the test freezing point boiling point specific gravity foaming pH and reserve alkalinity plus the various research projects on corrosion if you refer to this booklet from time to time I'm sure it'll help you with your sales picture well I can certainly use this in my selling and I know that I'll can use it in his new bed thanks a million dr. white for all your time in trouble we've enjoyed the day more than we can ever tell you thanks again dr. white it's been a real pleasure meeting you bye bye bye goodbye out and I'll really appreciated the opportunity of seeing how things are done at first hand I just wanted to drop in and thank you for arranging the trip through the lab for us mr. Evans you're certainly welcome Joe I hope you learned our quality story I'll say I learned the quality story and it's all right here in this book that dr. white gave us know what I know now and and this book I can really go out and do a selling job on our antifreeze well that's fine Joe the quality story works when I was a Salesman the quality story was my best sales tool and it's still the best tool in selling antifreeze remember for any customer whatever you sell quality controls the sale [Music]