Month: October 2025

One less step, one more gear: how Giottox snc found a new way to strip alloy wheels (case study) 

“Giottox” learned this the hard way, or rather, through their wheels. Powder coating is tough: hard to remove and made the paint-stripping process long, expensive, and often a real production bottleneck. But today, Marco and Alessandro, the two owners of this small but dynamic workshop in the Como area (Italy), can say they’ve turned that pain point into a strength, thanks to a targeted, practical, and efficient investment. 

A problem called “Powder”, a solution called FASTRIP T5 

For alloy wheel refurbishers, powder coating is a real challenge: it’s strong, durable, and very hard to remove. Before discovering ALIT, the Giottox team faced this problem daily. The result? Long process times, inconsistent quality, and high costs. Outsourcing the sandblasting was the only option, but it wasn’t enough. 

Things changed when Claudio, our sales technician for Northwest Italy, introduced Marco and Alessandro to a solution: FASTRIP T5, an immersion tank designed to strip paint from ferrous metals and light alloys quickly, safely, and sustainably. 

T5: a small tank, a big impact 

FASTRIP T5 is a plug-and-play system with an 800-liter tank made of AISI 304 stainless steel. A compact and complete solution featuring: 

• integrated electric heating (up to 8 kW), 
• full-side insulation to minimize heat loss (Giottox loses only 5–10 °C over the weekend), 
• a touch panel to control the cycles, 
• optional mechanical or ultrasonic agitators. 

Thanks to these features, the Giottox team can strip paint off wheels easily. The insulation keeps the tank’s temperature stable for a long time, which means they can restart the process instantly, even after days of inactivity, like over a weekend. 

The key step: eliminating sandblasting and bringing stripping in-house 

Combined with the Metalstrip 1334 product, the T5 allowed Giottox to completely remove sandblasting from their workflow. This is a hot chemical stripper, specially formulated for light alloys like aluminum and zinc, and active already at 70–90 °C. Its biggest strength? It penetrates deeply without damaging the metal, ensuring fast and effective removal, even for tough powder coatings. 

Once the wheels are immersed in the tank, they come out clean, residue-free, and ready for repainting. “Just a rinse,” they say at Giottox, “and it’s done. No rework, no defects.” 

Metalstrip 1334 is also designed for regenerable cycles: it can be filtered and reused multiple times, reducing both chemical consumption and environmental impact. 

And the benefits aren’t just about quality. Processing time dropped by 24–48 hours per cycle, and handling became incredibly simple: load up to 8 wheels, immerse, rinse, and they’re ready to paint again. 

A smooth, safe, repeatable process, even for small batches, prototypes, or urgent jobs. 

A real case of sustainable productivity 

T5 isn’t just a tank. For Giottox, it’s been an investment that delivered greater efficiency, less waste, and more competitiveness, all while maintaining the highest attention to detail, which is a must for those working with aesthetics and precision. 

Giottox integrated the FASTRIP T5 without overhauling their workspace or operations, a perfect example of how you can revolutionize a process without disrupting your production. 

Why this story could be yours too 

In today’s market, customers demand customization, speed, and quality. Every step in the production chain matters. And paint stripping, often overlooked, can actually be a strategic lever. 

The Giottox case shows that modernizing one step can transform the entire cycle. And that choosing ALIT isn’t just about buying a machine: it means joining a network of solutions, expertise, and active listening. 

Every plant, every process, every need is different. That’s why ALIT’s sales technicians are always on the front line with clients, not just to offer solutions, but to truly understand their needs. 

Managing fluorides in wastewater, especially in the aluminium and glass treatment sectors, is a constant technical and regulatory challenge. In Italy, the legal limit is often set at 6 ppm, while in some countries it can go as low as 2 ppm. Consistently staying within these limits is anything but easy.

Why fluorides are a real issue 

During surface treatment processes, aluminium and glass release fluorides into wastewater streams. These compounds are hard to remove effectively, especially without disrupting the plant’s chemical-physical balance. 

Fluoridite, a concrete ally 

To address this challenge, ALIT Technologies developed Fluoridite, a specific chemical treatment designed to reduce fluoride levels in industrial wastewater, easily integrable into existing systems without modifying the current layout. 

In real-world conditions, with initial concentrations around 50 ppm, Fluoridite has proven effective in lowering fluoride levels to about 3 ppm, with further improvements possible through fine-tuning. The product dosage is directly proportional to the water flow rate, making the process easy to calibrate and manage, even with fluctuating loads. 

A complete technical approach 

Fluoridite is developed and validated entirely in-house, through a process that includes: 

• In-depth analysis of the customer’s existing wastewater treatment cycle, 
• Lab testing to replicate real operating conditions, 
• On-site dosage setup to ensure performance and compliance. 

Strict control over raw materials, production batches, and final product performance guarantees quality, reliability, and regulatory compliance. 

Tangible benefits 

Fluoridite ensures stable and repeatable fluoride reduction, fully compatible with existing industrial systems. It’s a precise response to a real need, not a one-size-fits-all product, and it solves the problem without disrupting existing processes.