Washington., D.C. — One of America's newest high-tech businesses is succeeding by following one of the world's oldest strategies: give the manufacturer what he wants, when he wants it, and save him money.

Custom powder coaters are a new breed of companies that apply advanced finishes to a wide range of materials and products. Custom coaters help out manufacturers who choose not to finish their products in-house because of production overflows, the need for special color or quality, or worries about bumping up against EPA Clean Air Act regulations.

"When it doesn't make economic sense to install a complete powder coating line, the custom coater provides a manufacturer just the service he needs at exactly the time he needs it," says Greg Bocchi, Executive Director of The Powder Coating Institute. As a result, custom coaters have played a major role in fueling the steady growth of powder coating, now nearly a billion-dollar industry. According to Bocchi, "Of the roughly 5,000 powder coating systems now in use in North America, over 1,000 are custom coaters, ranging in size from small manual operations to large automated lines."

In powder coating, often called "dry painting," electrostatically-charged dry particles of pigment and resin are sprayed onto products ranging from automobile parts and vacuum cleaners to roofing tiles and decorative glass bottles. The powder particles are then heated in an oven, permanently fusing them to the surface. The powder coating industry has been expanding as manufacturers and consumers recognize the benefits of powder coating over liquid paint and other finishes.

A virtually pollution-free process:

• Very little waste; oversprayed particles can be recovered and reused.
• Creates strong, colorful, smooth finishes that are more durable than most liquid paints.
• Costs less to apply than liquid paint, lower operating costs, less overall labor required.

Powder is now used in a wide and growing range of industries, including major appliances, power tools, motorcycles, automotive parts, lawn and garden furniture, sporting goods, toys, aircraft parts, architectural parts, office equipment, and baby strollers and furniture. And more widespread use of powder is on the way. The Big Three automakers have launched an historic collaboration on a facility to test spraying powder clearcoat on their automotive bodies.

"Powder coating is truly the technology of the future, here today," says Bocchi, "and custom coaters are on its leading edge."