Adam Thomas, Vice President of the family-owned company R.J. Thomas Manufacturing. is a Cherokee, Iowa, manufacturer of Pilot Rock park equipment that was founded in 1959.

The addition of an upgraded powder coating system has been on R.J. Thomas Manufacturing’s to-do list for some time, and especially since business has been growing for the last several years.

The company has been designing and manufacturing the Pilot Rock brand of park, street, and campsite equipment since its inception. The outdoor park equipment includes campfire rings, grills, benches, picnic tables, and trash receptacles, which are used in parks, campgrounds, or someone’s backyard.

Read more at https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/powder-coat/2585-r-j-thomas-mfgs-new-pilot-rock-powder-coating-system-makes-finishing-a-walk-in-the-woods

Jo’Van Wiggins is the Chief Operations Officer of EMI Quality Plating in Evansville, Indiana, a 50,000-square-foot business that is central to many manufacturing operations in the U.S.

EMI specializes in silver, gold, and nickel plating; certified welding inspection; and additional specialty plating processes, including palladium, diamond coatings, low-, mid-, and high-phos nickel, as well as electroless nickel.

“We have a lot of choices and options for potential partnerships with different companies,” Wiggins says. “And we are only using about 25,000 square feet, so we're ready to expand and open up. We also have real estate around our facility, so we're able to build on and open up the capacity even more if need be.”

Founded in 2005, the company was acquired in 2016, and President Jake Stocks took ownership and rebranded it with a more modern look and vision. The list of industries they serve is as extensive as the number of processes they offer: military defense, medical, automotive, RF/microwave, laser, cellular, consumer electronics, optics, HVAC/refrigeration, computer, aerospace, and telecommunications.

Visit https://emiplating.com.

Since 2017, Doug Orantes and his wife, Loida, have been trying to get Aero Plating in Lancaster, California, off the ground. Still, a miscommunication with local city officials derailed those plans until he was finally able to realize his dream of opening the doors in 2023.

“It’s been a long wait,” Orantes says. “But it has been very much worth it.”

Today, Aero Plating operates in an 8,500-square-foot facility that is certified to 9001:2015/AS9100D and Nadcap standards for chem-film and passivation applications.

https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/conversion/2551-worth-the-wait-aero-plating-comes-online-after-6-years-of-planning

Jim Leidig is the General Manager of Matrix Finishing in Harrington, Delaware.

For the last year, Leidig has had the dream job of designing and building — and now running —a hi-tech powder coating operation that would be the envy of any finishing applicator in the land.

When it came time to buy the equipment needed to run the 65,000-square-foot facility, it was Leidig’s bosses who insisted that he go high-end on the equipment and supplies he needed.

Ashley and Jason Hunsaker are owners of HTS Coatings in Madison, Illinois, which offers thermal spray coating for corrosion protection.

HTS Coatings is expanding and growing not only as a coating shop but also as a machining and grinding facility. They market themselves as a full-service thermal spray, grinding, machining, and welding facility that specializes in preventing corrosion- and erosion-related wear and in repairing components damaged during operation.

Their trademark thermal spray coating, BTHC-0005, is, they say, superior to hard-chrome deposits for corrosion protection.

“We know that the chrome replacement is coming,” she says. “And we do believe thermal spray is a viable option.”

Read the full article at https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/liquid-coat/2477-hts-coatings-soar-with-high-velocity-thermal-spray-as-chrome-replacement

Visit https://htscoatings.com.

Guillermo Aguilera and Brenda Tapia are owners of Metal Chem in Chatsworth, California, a shop that offers chem film, passivation, anodizing, electroless nickel, zinc, and phosphate conversion on the plating side, as well as Mil-Specs, urethanes, epoxy, and polyester hybrids on the powder coating side, in addition to liquid coatings.

Metal Chem also provides conformal coatings for printed circuit board assemblies, potting or encapsulation finishes in filling an electronic assembly, and dry film lubricants, too.

Their Nadcap accreditation has enabled them to meet the metal application needs of top technology pioneers in the aerospace, military, and naval industries, resulting in further growth for the company.

Visit https://www.metalcheminc.com.

Jeffrey Rubin is President of Testrite, a manufacturer of visual display products located in Hackensack, New Jersey.

After decades of wishful thinking about bringing powder coating in-house, in 2025, Jeffrey and his father, Larry, the CEO of Testrite, are finally up and running with their own powder coating line, following years of outsourcing the work to an external shop.

Testrite integrates graphics into visual merchandising, communication, and presentation environments, utilizing those graphics to capture attention and convey messages tastefully and effectively.

Their customers include some of the world's top retailers and brands. They collaborate with these companies’ visual merchandise and store planning departments, as well as associated digital printers, marketing, logistics, and installation companies, to deliver messages to stores that customers will see and, hopefully, respond to.

Visit www.Testrite.com, www.TestriteOEM.com and www.TestriteAluminum.com.

Park Kersman is President of Lorin Industries, which he purchased from his family in 2006. His grandfather founded the Muskegon, Michigan coil and batch anodizer in 1943, which has over 400,000 square feet of space.

Lorin Industries has collaborated with some of the most prestigious names in architecture, design, and construction, and the Michigan company has quickly established a reputation in the architectural market.

However, while Lorin Industries has worked diligently on a global scale to establish itself as a leader in the coil anodizing sector, it has recently returned to its roots by installing a new batch anodizing line to enhance its services.

Christened in early 2024, it enables Lorin to meet the needs of its current coil-to-coil customers with batch-anodized parts. New customers requiring batch anodizing can now access Lorin’s premier coil anodizing process.

Visit https://www.lorin.com.