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This article is sponsored by N.T. Ruddock, a domestic supplier of various sandblasting abrasives, equipment, and metals.

In a time of unprecedented supply chain difficulties and rising material costs, N.T. Ruddock provides a locally sourced, competitively priced garnet alternative to the abrasive market: PolyCut. This is an invaluable resource for a large variety of industries, as it provides a drop-in replacement for garnet while still providing nearly identical results. 

“Customers are looking for alternatives in the face of current supply chain issues,” says Jim Ruddock, vice president of sales at N.T. Ruddock. 

“In light of recent supply chain issues, any business that makes something cares about reshoring their manufacturing capabilities,” says Sam Ruddock, global markets director at N.T. Ruddock. “As an American-made, locally sourced abrasive material, PolyCut gives customers the same quality cuts as garnet at a lower price while avoiding supply chain risks.”

N.T. Ruddock is a distributor of various abrasives, metals, equipment, and parts. Having worked with a large portfolio of industries, they have the experience to help clients determine the ideal abrasive material for their particular application. As part of their offerings, they offer the American-made waterjet abrasive PolyCut. 

Jim Ruddock (JR): We started this business in 1951 selling abrasives for a lot of different industries. These abrasives included steel shot, aluminum oxide, glass beads, walnut shells, and other granular abrasives used for sandblasting and other finishing processes. Because we were involved in so many different industries, we became application experts, meaning we could consult and advise customers on what abrasives are best for their particular needs. 

When garnet abrasive came along about 20 years ago for waterjet cutting, that was right up our alley. However, garnet is a mined mineral, and we had to move a lot of material from India. In 2018, I looked at another abrasive that we’d been selling for 30 years, and I noticed that a lot of its properties, including density, hardness, etc., lined up with those of garnet. 

I thought it would be a good idea to buy a product — PolyCut — that was made in the United States and see if we could substitute that for imported material from India, and we had good success. PolyCut has been around for over 30 years, is locally sourced, and is competitively priced against garnet. All of these were very important factors, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues.

Sam Ruddock (SR): We have the know-how and knowledge that our competitors don’t have. Miners and other abrasive distributors don’t know as much about the market, how it’s used, and the chemical analysis as we do. We also do equipment and metals, making us much larger than other competitors.

JR: We worked with a large aerospace company in Ohio that makes ingot mill products for military applications and has several very large water jet machines. They used an alluvial garnet to cut through billet up to six inches thick. We approached them to use our PolyCut a few years ago. In the beginning, they ran into some issues with our material, but we were able to re-spec it for them. After working closely with the mine and sorting facility, we developed a product that was able to cut through six-inch billet at the same speed and quality of cut as garnet.

In another project, there was a stone flooring and counter supplier that cuts large slabs of marble, granite, and quartz. They were originally using our garnet abrasive, but they were looking to cut the price of their materials, so we introduced them to PolyCut. They were using 80 and 120 garnet, so once their new machines were installed, we helped them introduce PolyCut as a replacement. It worked as a drop-in replacement, meaning they didn’t need to change anything when switching from garnet to PolyCut.

SR: In terms of waterjet cutting, we get a lot of questions about what the abrasive looks like and what density will work best for the material being cut. We also get questions about nozzle size and abrasive selection. Because we work with so many different customers, we touch a multitude of industries. Customers come to us with a wide array of experience levels, from people who are just getting started and have no idea what to use to people who have specific questions regarding highly technical aerospace applications.

JR: Specifically with PolyCut, we get asked “Will it achieve the same finish? Can it cut at the same speed? Is it safe to go in a landfill?” The answers to all those questions are yes. I like to say that PolyCut is a drop-in replacement that allows you to keep everything the same for 20% cheaper.

JR: The biggest trend we’re seeing is reshoring of manufacturing. Our PolyCut, which is mined in the United States, is part of that process. 

Since our PolyCut is locally sourced, we have a leg up because we don’t have to worry about high ocean freight costs, increasing oil prices, and other supply chain problems. We’re reshoring cheaper, which hasn’t been a theme in American manufacturing for over 50 years. We’re lucky because we can provide an American-made source for raw material that is cheaper than imported material.

JR: We have over 70 years in business and we’re ISO certified. As an abrasive distributor with a very long history, we are very adaptable. We are nimble in many industries, so if someone comes to us with a problem and wants us to distribute a solution, we’re happy to do it. 

Image Credit: Image courtesy of N.T. Ruddock

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