Powder Coated Tough - Spring 2008 - (Page 38) CUSTOM COATERS CORNER Industrial Production Shop, Yes; Hobby Coater, No BY SHARON SPIELMAN, EDITOR Although some custom coaters specialize in motorcycle and car frames, engine blocks or wheels, there are others that are able to run large parts at a high capacity day-in and day-out on a repetitive schedule. Read on for the story of one such industrial custom coater. W hat is a custom coater? Some would say that by its very title, a custom coater is a shop that takes on individual, custom coating projects. Others might argue that it is a small, mom-and-pop type business that provides only batch coating jobs. Others might define a custom coater as a small- to medium-size job shop with both automatic and manual capabilities. And still others might say that a custom coater is a “hobby coater.” At Carolinas Custom Clad (CCC), a custom coater in Rock Hill., S.C., though, Chris Wright, president, defines his business as “an industrial production shop—and our typical customer or market [is] OEM.” He says those customers include manufacturers in the automotive, appliance, architectural, office furniture and heavy equipment industries. “While we are able to Carolinas Custom Clad’s latest installation is its square transfer line, which utilizes a series of I-Beam rails and load bar trolleys. This new line allows the custom coater to run production of large product. The line’s load area and application booth can be seen here. process a wide band of product sizes and configurations, a sizable portion of our product mix includes very large items. This is accomplished on a production basis day-in and day-out,” Wright says. Son of Chuck Wright, the owner of WW Custom Clad Inc., a 32-year-old custom coating facility in upstate New York, Chris worked summers through high school and college at his father’s shop. After graduating from college in 1984 from the University of Rochester and then working in sales and marketing for various companies in the finishing industry, including Oakite Chemicals, Glidden Powder Coatings and Ion Technologies (application equipment), until 1997, Chris and his father decided to launch a satellite operation of WW Custom Clad Inc. The Wrights contracted with a long established customer that had relocated to Rock Hill, S.C., in 1997 to initiate the start-up venture of Carolinas Custom Clad. Because Chuck Wright had been involved with The Powder Coating Institute (PCI) for decades—he was 38 Powder Coated Tough
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