Powder Coated Tough - Fall/Winter 2007 - (Page 36) Thinking Outside the Box EDITED BY SHARON SPIELMAN A small mom-and-pop job shop in Indiana has increased business by 200% since entering the powder coating arena. Utilizing outdoor space for the oven allowed the shop to retain its valuable, minimal shop floor space. C rager’s Paint & Powder Coating is a family-owned powIt was determined that the best solution to the limited shop der coating business located in Freemont, Ind. Richard space would be an oven that could be installed outside of the and Bernice Crager, owners, and their staff apply powfacility with the oven doors opening into the shop. This meant der to everything from automobile parts to air compressor their current useable factory shop floor space would not have tanks to ski towers. The company was established in 1985 as a to be compromised. body shop with a majority of the business focused on semiA gas-fired walk-in batch powder curing oven was installed. trucks. In 1989, they began liquid painting parts for factories. The oven’s design uses standard metal building components As the demand for liquid painting decreased, Crager’s realassembled in a patented design, which allows for thermal ized they needed to enter the expansion. The corrugated powder coating business if they walls act as an accordion to wanted to grow and stay profaccommodate thermal expanitable. So in 2002, Crager’s sion. There is 6" of 6# density entered the powder coating batt type insulation and a 2" market. dead air space, resulting in As Richard Crager planned only 8 to 12 BTUs of shell loss the transformation, he says per square foot, which is onethat one of the areas where he tenth of normal panel conwas not willing to compromise struction. The exterior shell of was his company’s continuing the oven is mill treated and dedication to providing its cuswarranted against fading, tomers with the highest quality chalking and peeling for a periparts in their region. Crager’s powder coats products of various sizes ranging from 2 x 3" od of 10 years. The interior to 12 x 7'. The 8' wide x 16' deep x 8' high work chamber of the After some research on shell and duct are fabricated of oven provides sufficient area for the shop to process a range of sizes. powder coatings and how they aluminized steel. are cured, Crager knew that a high quality powder coating Crager’s powder coats products of various sizes ranging oven would have to be purchased. At only about 1,200 from 2 x 3" to 12 x 7'. The 8' wide x 16' deep x 8' high square feet, though, shop space was a big concern. How work chamber of the Crager’s oven provides sufficient area could their current facility accommodate an oven large for the shop to process a range of sizes. According to enough to process their customers’ parts? The oven they Crager, the ability of the oven to accommodate large loads wanted had a footprint that would take up about half of their results in higher production rates and greater profitability. available shop. After doing some more research, Crager’s The job shop does a significant amount of powder coating turned to Wisconsin Oven for a solution to its powder curing on metal cross-sections up to 1" thick, and Crager says the part requirements and shop space restrictions. quality has always met or exceeded expectations. He also says Photo credit Brett Ryden, Publisher 36 Powder Coated Tough
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