More than a decade ago, Lim Beeson, president of Metals Technology Inc., a custom powder coating firm in Hastings, Nebraska, saw that powder coating had great potential. ''I was a plant manager at Meersoll Dresser Pump Company here in Hastings. I decided to buy the company that was applying coatings for us. So Metals Technology became one of the early powder coaters, and we've been doing it ever since."

He's seen the industry take off, especially in the last few years, as more and more companies have come to appreciate powder coating's advantages. "The powder coating industry, especially custom coating, is growing by leaps and bounds," he says. His own business has more than doubled in size since 1997, and the company is weighing the possibility of adding a third powder coating line, less than two years after adding its second.

When Metals Technology started out, almost all its business was "flocking," a special kind of powder coating for heavy cast parts. In flocking, all surfaces to be coated are abrasive blast cleaned to SSPC-SP5, a white metal blast. Surfaces that are not to be coated are covered with high temperature masking tape. The part is then preheated to an application temperature, approximately 475 degrees. The part is coated next, then post cured in an oven at 475 degrees for 15 to 30 minutes.

While flocking continues to be a major part of Beeson's business, in early 1998 Metals Technology added a new plant, which does more typical powder coating. "It's a continuous line that can handle smaller, commercial parts at much higher volumes," Beeson says. For example, Metals Technology processes 20-25,000 pieces a week for one of its main customers, L & L Wood & Wire of Beatrice, Nebraska.

L & L makes decorative wire gift products. Its president, Steve Hartley, says powder coating is well-suited to his company's needs. "In the early days, we dip-coated our products," he says. "But the durability and resistance to scratching of powder coating gives it a real advantage over liquid paints."

Metals Technology's new line has a 400-foot conveyor, using a four-stage wash system, and manual powder coating guns. The powder guns are supplied by Wagner. Metals Technology buys about 60% of its powder from Cardinal, about 25% from Sherwin Williams, and the rest from a range of producers. Beeson now has about twenty-five employees working in three buildings, in a total plant area of about 30,000 feet.

The shift to more typical powder coating has allowed Metals Technology to add some new companies to its long-time customers. The emphasis on flocking had limited the company's market. "The basic reason we added the new plant was we felt we needed to get into new markets," says Beeson. "That way we wouldn't be dependent on a few customers and could take control of our own destiny."

With the new line in place, Metals Technology's business grew by more than 30% in 1998 and is projected to grow at least that much this year as well. The company—with customers in Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota— serves fence and railing makers, automobile restorers, lawn furniture manufacturers, and many other industries as well.

Powder coating's innate advantages over other finishes have been an important reason for Metals Technology's growth. "We now coat portable light towers that are built by a contractor for the Air Force," says Beeson. "The original Air Force spec's were for a wet coating, but when we did some sample work using powder, the Air Force people were elated. They said the powder coating was the nicest finish they had ever seen, so they shifted the specs from a wet system to powder. We've seen that kind of thing happen a number of times."

Metals Technology sends prospective customers a sample piece of steel that has been powder coated, encouraging them to bend it and try to scratch it. Beeson says powder coating's toughness, flexibility and durability is a powerful advertisement for his firm.