FAQs
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Q1: What is your "100% On Time Shipping Guarantee"?
Q2: What are your Product Warranty Terms?
Q3: What are your Shipping Terms?
Q4: What are your Payment Terms?
Q5: Can we enter into a Stocking Agreement?
Q6: Do you offer price breaks for larger order quantities?
Q7: Can I get a sample of your product for evaluation before ordering?
Q8. Do you provide IMDS submissions?
Q9: What is RoHS and is Grayline’s tubing compliant?
Q10: What is REACH and does Grayline’s tubing contain any SVHC?
Q11: How does Grayline support the maquiladoras?
Q12: What are Grayline's manufacturing lead times?
Q13: Can Grayline manufacture custom diameters and wall thicknesses?
Q14: Do you offer custom color matching services?
Q15: Can Grayline provide me with small quantities of custom colors or sizes of heat shrinkable POLYOLEFIN tubing?
Q16: Will Grayline cut tubing to length for me?
Q17: Can Grayline print and/or hot stamp on their tubing?
Q18: Can Grayline shape, or heat form, tubing for me?
Q19: Can Grayline extrude any non-circular profiles?
Q20: Can you manufacture tapered tubing?
Q21: Can Grayline provide special packaging?
Q22: Will Grayline perform subassembly work for me?
Q23: I currently apply heat shrinkable tubing over a cylindrical substrate before using a flow-through oven to shrink it down; are there any cost-effective alternatives for me to consider?
Q24: Does Grayline offer multiple tubes bonded together, side by side?
Q25: What if I want to use additional adhesive on my adhesive-lined heat shrink tubing, or want to use adhesive with PVC heat shrink tubing?
Q1: What is your "100% On Time Shipping Guarantee"?
For the record, Grayline's on time shipping history in 2008 was 99.9%. However, Grayline sometimes finds that prospective customers doubt that our on time shipping record can really be that good.
In 2007, Grayline decided to prove to the industry that they can rely on Grayline by instituting our "100% On Time Shipping Guarantee", which states that "At Grayline, it's ready to ship on the date promised…or shipping is FREE!"
Our commitment to you is that if an order is not ready to be shipped on the date promised, we will credit you for the cost of shipping. Please review the Program Details outlined below:
In order to receive a credit, please contact Grayline within 90 days to indicate that a shipment arrived late. You will also need to provide us with a copy of your shipping invoice so that we can issue the appropriate credit.
There is a limited liability of $500 per late shipment occurrence. If items from two or more purchase orders are to be shipped together on the same day, and that shipment date is missed, the $500 limit applies to all products that were to have been shipped on that day, and not each separate purchase order.
In the event that a portion of an order is late (for example, only 9 of 10 boxes are available to ship on the date promised for shipping), Grayline will credit the shipping costs for the late portion only. If the late portion is subsequently shipped at a later date in combination with other product, then the amount to be credited to the customer for late shipment will be prorated, based on the weight of the late product, the total shipped weight and the total shipping cost.
In the event that a shipment is not made on time, Grayline will only be responsible for crediting the costs of standard shipping methods, and only at our discretion shall credit the customer for expedited shipping costs.
Force Majeure: Grayline shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance to the extent said failures or delays are caused by circumstances beyond Grayline's reasonable control.
Q2: What are your Product Warranty Terms?
Limitations of Warranty:
Grayline, Inc. warrants that products delivered are free from defects in material and workmanship, and meet all specifications that are in effect on the date of shipment, or such other specifications as have been expressly agreed upon in writing, for a period of six (6) months from the date of shipment. Grayline, Inc. makes no other warranty, expressed or implied. Grayline, Inc expressly disclaims any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No person or company is authorized to make oral or written representations on behalf of Grayline, Inc., which exceed the foregoing.
Limitation of Remedy:
The buyer's sole and exclusive remedy shall be for the repair or replacement of any particular defective part provided by Grayline, Inc. The essential purpose of this exclusive remedy shall be deemed satisfied so long as Grayline, Inc. is willing and able to repair or replace defective parts in the manner prescribed in the section below detailing Grayline, Inc.'s Limitation of Liability.
Limitation of Liability:
In no event shall Grayline, Inc.'s liability under any claim exceed the price paid by the buyer to Grayline, Inc. for the particular product or material giving rise to the claim. Grayline, Inc. will not be liable under any circumstances or any theory of claim or liability, including but not limited to, those based on breach of warranty, breach of contract, strict liability, negligence, tort or otherwise, for any consequential, special, incidental or exemplary damages including but not limited to loss of income, loss of profits or sales, loss of use or damage to equipment, excessive or increased costs of operation, labor, substitute products or facilities or claims of third parties. The provisions of this limited warranty shall supersede any other warranty provision and no other warranty provision shall be binding on Grayline, Inc. unless Grayline, Inc. expressly agrees to such warranty provision in writing. Buyer shall pay all of Grayline, Inc.'s costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred in enforcing its rights under this agreement, including, without limitation, any action to collect amounts due to Grayline, Inc. under this agreement.
Q3: What are your Shipping Terms?
Grayline ships throughout North America and internationally as well, and our terms are Freight On Board (FOB) Waukesha, WI. We have found that the majority of our customers prefer this as they receive significant shipping discounts by consolidating all of their shipping requirements with just a few carriers of their choice.
Q4: What are your Payment Terms?
Grayline offers Net 30 day payment terms to qualified customers. We also accept VISA and MasterCard credit cards.
Q5: Can we enter into a Stocking Agreement?
For those situations in which it makes sense to do so, Grayline will gladly offer to maintain a stocked inventory of your specific product, allocated to you so that it is readily available when you need it, even on short notice.
Q6: Do you offer price breaks for larger order quantities?
In most cases, Grayline pricing is dependent upon the order quantity, with discounts given for larger order quantities. The reason for this is that the initial production set-up costs are allocated over a larger production run. Of course, there is a limit beyond which these set-up costs are an insignificant portion of the total cost, and no further price reductions can be offered.
Q7: Can I get a sample of your product for evaluation before ordering?
Grayline maintains a "sample room" with many products available for immediate shipping for sampling purposes. In some cases, Grayline may need to manufacture a special sample for you, and there is sometimes a small charge involved.
Q8. Do you provide IMDS submissions?
Yes, Grayline can provide IMDS information upon request. IMDS stands for the International Material Data System (www.mdsystem.com). It is a database available on the web, developed by the automotive industry. Suppliers enter information about the substances that comprise the parts they make, and this information is then submitted for others to view and use.
Substances that must be declared include any basic materials that are on the Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL)(www.gadsl.org). This list includes all substances which the automotive industry has determined it needs to know in order to comply with all governmental regulations world-wide.
Grayline maintains entries in this database and these can be forwarded to customers upon request. We can also provide other hazardous material reports, if needed.
Q9: What is RoHS and is Grayline’s tubing compliant?
The acronym stands for Restriction Of Hazardous Substances. RoHS is a European Union law (EU Directive 2002/95/EC) that prohibits the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers in electrical products sold in the EU. All Grayline tubing except for NHS is compliant and does not contain the prohibited substances.
Q10: What is REACH and does Grayline’s tubing contain any SVHC?
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) is a European Union regulation (2006/1907/EC) that requires that chemical substances used or imported into the EU be registered, evaluated and authorized for specific uses. As a manufacturer of “articles”, Grayline is not required to register any substances.
The regulation also defines Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC’s) which must be reported to users. There are currently 38 SVHC substances defined (as of June,2010). One of these is the plasticizer DEHP which is used in some of Grayline’s PVC compounds. See Grayline’s REACH policy for more details.
Q11: How does Grayline support the maquiladoras?
Grayline has a long history of supplying tubing to the maquiladoras and we ship product to the border, as well as the interior of Mexico, on a daily basis. We have bilingual sales personnel at our Waukesha, WI headquarters as well as at our satellite sales office in El Paso, TX. Grayline can readily communicate with our Spanish-speaking customers in their native language, both orally and in writing.
Q12: What are Grayline's manufacturing lead times?
All of the heat shrinkable and non-heat shrinkable products that Grayline manufactures have a standard lead time of only two weeks, and sometimes less.
Q13: Can Grayline manufacture custom diameters and wall thicknesses?
As a manufacturer, Grayline isn't limited to "stock" sizes. If your application would benefit from a non-standard diameter or wall thickness, Grayline can help. Grayline has the tooling and manufacturing process capabilities to extrude tubing in a continuous range of diameters and we are not limited to the sizes of existing "hard" tooling.
Q14: Do you offer custom color matching services?
Yes, many of the polymers we use to manufacture flexible tubing can readily be custom colored, including both opaque and transparent polymers. Since Grayline blends our own colored compounds, we can use the appropriate pigment additives to match other parts in an assembly, match or coordinate with your corporate color scheme, or give you just the right shade of color for that critical aesthetic application.
Q15: Can Grayline provide me with small quantities of custom colors or sizes of heat shrinkable POLYOLEFIN tubing?
Yes. Grayline also manufactures chemically cross-linked polyolefin tubing (in both heat shrinkable and non-heat shrinkable forms) that can be made in custom sizes and colors. Since this product is not irradiated but instead is chemically cross-linked, small quantity production runs are cost effective. If you need a specially sized, lime green polyolefin heat shrink tubing to match other components on your product…you've come to the right place.
Q16: Will Grayline cut tubing to length for me?
Absolutely! In fact, many customers prefer to have us cut their tubing for them. Not only can they reduce their costs but they obtain straighter and rounder lengths of tubing than they can by cutting tubing from reels. Grayline regularly ships tubing cut lengths ranging from 1/8 of an inch to 10 feet in length.
Q17: Can Grayline print and/or hot stamp on their tubing?
Grayline has inkjet printing capabilities that can be used to print in line, dot-matrix style, during the extrusion process. Grayline also offers hot stamping services, including both text and company logo images.
Q18: Can Grayline shape, or heat form, tubing for me?
Grayline welcomes the opportunity to review your part design to determine if a heat formed tubing part might be an option. Similar in concept to pre-shaped radiator hoses found in automobiles, heat formed tubing shapes are often used to precisely route fluids, wires, etc. around an obstacle, and they also reduce the likelihood of kinking and improve the overall appearance of the installation as well.
Q19: Can Grayline extrude any non-circular profiles?
Yes. For example, tubing cross sections can be oval shaped or "D" shaped. Tubing can also include internal ribbing to improve gripping ability over a substrate, or external ribbing to provide a better surface texture.
Q20: Can you manufacture tapered tubing?
By accurately controlling the extrusion parameters, Grayline can manufacture tapered tubing, which is sometimes used in "daisy chain" fashion, typically in medical applications. Of course, there are physical limitations on the amount of taper that can be incorporated in a design; please contact Grayline to discuss the requirements of your application.
Q21: Can Grayline provide special packaging?
Yes, Grayline can provide your tubing in boxes, heat sealed bags, on reels, or in coil form. Grayline can also provide customer-specific labeling, including bar coding.
Q22: Will Grayline perform subassembly work for me?
Yes, Grayline can provide you with subassemblies that incorporate tubing and other components as well. For example, Grayline assembles fittings onto a spiral reinforced hose to provide a customer with prepackaged hose assemblies that are ready for shipping. As another example, Grayline inserts long lengths of PVC tubing into equal lengths of braided fiberglass sleeving at the request of another customer. Please contact Grayline to discuss your specific assembly needs.
Q23: I currently apply heat shrinkable tubing over a cylindrical substrate before using a flow-through oven to shrink it down; are there any cost-effective alternatives for me to consider?
There might be, depending upon your application. Grayline has developed a process by which a PVC covering can be applied directly to a substrate. For some customers, this process has replaced the use of heat shrinkable tubing and the necessary downstream equipment and labor, resulting in a significant cost savings. Please contact Grayline to discuss your specific application.
Q24: Does Grayline offer multiple tubes bonded together, side by side?
Grayline can thermally bond tubing to tubing, as well as tubing to cable, to provide a neat and compact assembly.
Please contact Grayline with the specific requirements of your application.
Q25: What if I want to use additional adhesive on my adhesive-lined heat shrink tubing, or want to use adhesive with PVC heat shrink tubing?
Grayline MELT-WRAP is a polyamide hot-melt adhesive that is ideal for these situations.
Supplied in the form of a flat strip measuring 2: wide and 0.012" thick (50mm wide and 0.3mm thick, MELT-WRAP can easily be cut to the required size using a scissors or automated cutting equipment. The adhesive strip is then wrapped around or between the wires or other substrate to be sealed, prior to installing a length of heat shrinkable tubing (either PVC or polyolefin) over the wrap. Application of heat causes the tubing to shrink and the adhesive to melt and flow, forming an environmental seal. The adhesive readily bonds to PVC, polyolefin, and EVA, as well as bare copper and aluminum.
For more information and photos demonstrating the application of MELT-WRAP, click here
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