Surface preparation is a cornerstone of modern industry, affecting durability, safety, and performance across multiple sectors — from automotive and aerospace to energy and construction. To meet challenges that grow more complex and demanding every day, six advanced operational Centers — five for technical and trials and one dedicated to peening — have been established worldwide by Winoa. These facilities, often referred to as Trust Centers, are designed to provide customers with efficient, reliable, and risk-free environments to test and optimize shot blasting and peening processes.

Shot blasting and peening are processes that leave little room for uncertainty. Every parameter — machine settings, abrasive type and flow, projection speed, coverage rate, part movement, or blasting time — has a direct impact on quality, cost, and performance. For customers, implementing a change on a live production line can be risky and disruptive.

The six Winoa Centers were built to remove this risk. Each center offers industrial-scale testing environments replicating or mirroring the current or future setup under real production conditions. Customers can bring their own parts, run comparative trials, and validate results before deciding on any adjustments. This “zero-risk” approach transforms the Technical Centers into trusted partners for innovation and efficiency.

The six facilities are strategically located to provide worldwide coverage: two in Europe (France and the Czech Republic), two in the Americas (the United States and Brazil), and two in Asia-Pacific (Japan and India).

Each center is more than a workshop. It is a hub for collaboration, training, and technical expertise. By distributing these resources globally, customers across regions have fast, reliable access to testing capabilities and expert guidance without long delays or logistical challenges.

In practice, this global presence means that an automotive supplier in India or a steel fabricator in Brazil can benefit from the same advanced methodologies and consistent technical standards as a manufacturer in Europe. While each center has its own specificities to meet local market needs — for instance, in India, the facility is currently dedicated exclusively to shot peening — together, the six centers form a global network of knowledge and trust.

Trust is also built on facts and figures. With more than 60 years of experience in blasting operations, the Technical Centers have developed unique tools to calculate the Total Cost of Operation (TCO).

The aim is clear: to demonstrate, with reliable data, that the overall blasting cost decreases even when the price of a chosen abrasive is higher. By factoring variables such as productivity, lifespan of consumables, energy consumption, and maintenance, the TCO approach provides customers with a transparent and comprehensive view of their real blasting costs.

All W Care experts from Winoa are equipped with these tools — available on both laptop and smartphone — to build tailored offers following trials or technical recommendations. This combination of expertise and digital precision ensures that cost savings are not just promised but proven.

The TCO calculation approach is unique in the industry and is a powerful decision-making tool, further strengthening the role of the Technical Centers as Trust Centers that provide credible, data-driven guidance.

In addition to testing, the Technical Centers also provide blasting-on-demand services. This flexible offer is designed to support customers when their own capacity is constrained or when investing in additional equipment is not feasible.

Blasting on demand plays a crucial role in four scenarios:

• Managing overproduction: When customer demand exceeds normal production capacity, the centers can provide additional blasting support to keep productivity on track.

• During maintenance periods: If a customer’s machine is stopped for servicing, the centers ensure continuity by temporarily handling the blasting process.

• Small-series production: For low-volume runs where the purchase of a blasting machine would not be justified, the centers provide a cost-effective alternative.

• Prototyping and pre-series: For customers who want to test products and prototype set-ups in the centers instead of performing them within their own facilities.

These services further reinforce the Trust Center concept. Customers know that in moments of stress, downtime, or opportunity, they can rely on the centers as strong and efficient partners, ready to help maintain productivity and business commitments.

Another essential role of the Technical Centers is training customer teams in best practices for blasting operations. These programs transform the centers into classrooms where practical expertise is shared directly with operators, supervisors, and engineers.

The benefits of this training are tangible:

• Reduction of machine breakdowns through better understanding and preventive care.

• Deeper knowledge of machine interactions, helping teams run processes more smoothly.

• Higher blasting quality, thanks to greater control over parameters and consistency.

• Identification of improvement areas to fine-tune productivity and efficiency.

• Enhanced team skills, creating long-term value for the customer’s operations.

By strengthening the skills of customer teams, the Technical Centers once again act as Trust Centers. They provide not only technical solutions and services but also the know-how that ensures those solutions deliver lasting results on the shop floor.

Customers turn to shot blasting and peening not only for quality improvement but also for broader business outcomes. The Technical Centers address both dimensions.

On the productivity side, optimized machine settings and abrasive selection can reduce blasting times, lower abrasive consumption, and improve workflow. On the sustainability side, the right parameters reduce waste, extend component life, and decrease energy consumption. In both cases, the outcome is measurable: lower costs, higher quality, and improved environmental performance.

These results reinforce the positioning of the centers as Trust Centers. Customers can rely on them not only for technical solutions but also for long-term alignment with strategic goals such as efficiency, sustainability, and compliance.

Perhaps the greatest value of the Technical Centers lies in the relationships they create. Each visit, each trial, and each upgrade is part of a longer journey toward mutual growth. Customers know that when they face new challenges — whether driven by regulation, market demand, or innovation — the Trust Centers stand ready as reliable partners.

In this sense, the centers are not just laboratories or workshops. They are strategic resources designed to bridge industry needs with tested and validated solutions. By combining attentive listening, technical expertise, and effective implementation, they provide confidence that every surface preparation challenge can be met.

Across six locations worldwide, the Technical Centers offer much more than technical testing. They are Trust Centers: efficient, strong, and reliable environments where customer needs are taken seriously, challenges are carefully analyzed, and solutions are rigorously validated.

In an industry where precision and performance leave no room for compromise, these centers empower manufacturers to innovate with confidence — and without risk. By uniting industrial-scale testing, advanced machine upgrades, and a deeply customer-centric approach, they enable businesses not only to meet the demands of today but to anticipate and master the challenges of tomorrow.

Shot blasting and peening may be highly technical processes, but at their heart lies a simple promise: trust. And that is exactly what the Technical Centers deliver.

For Information: 

Winoa

528 Avenue de Savoie

38570 Le Cheylas, France

Tel. +33.6.43 66 51 65

E-mail: candice.champon@winoa.com

www.winoa.com

www.winoa-2effe.com