The Beauty of Perseverance

Perseverance is a word that will probably be emblazoned over Bill Stock’s tombstone someday.

After a 5-year effort to work with his customer, his customer’s customer, and an automotive OEM, the owner of Microfinish in St. Louis finally was able to get rid of the lone hexavalent chromium line he had and switched it over to trivalent chromium, which is what he has been using for 20 years with other customers.

Our cover story, “The Big Switch,” chronicles one plater’s efforts to make the switch from Cr6 to Cr3, which can be either smooth as the finish on the seat belt buckle — which in this case is what Microfinish was working on — or it can be a tumultuous ride down a bumpy road with many twists and turns.

“There were several times in this process that we hit a complete dead-end, and then everyone just had to kind of back up,” Stock says, who adds that partnering with Coventya was the only way he could have managed the process because they brought in their metallurgical experts and offered data showing how trivalent chrome worked just as well.

Hats off to the Coventya team for working so closely with Stock and his Microfinish team, which included Pat Gleason, Operations Manager, and Dale Woodfin, Operations Manager.

This issue also takes a look at New Method Plating in Worcester, MA, and how sons Chris and Nick Capalbo are taking over the reins of the shop from their dad, Ralph Jr., who did the same things when his father handed the company down to him. Nick and Chris are the third-generation co-presidents, and we highlight how they have overcome some environmental regulations to stay as one of the top cadmium platers in the U.S.

We go to the other coast to highlight owner Dan Rose and Elite Metal Finishing in Oceanside, CA. One of the great aspects of Elite’s operation is how Rose runs his operations and manages his team. This includes a business coach, an HR service provider Insperity, a quality consultant, and bi-lingual employee training.

We also take a look at DJ Powder Coating in Kernersville, NC, which is about to embark on offering a new process technique called Powder Effects that applies a distressed patina look while also offering durability and corrosion resistance of powder coating. Owner Denny Young has been working with Ross and Kim Scott, who own Maui Powder Works in Hawaii that licenses the process and teaches it to other powder coaters.

Please enjoy the October edition of FinishingAndCoating.com, which also includes a preview for the upcoming SUR/FIN conference in Detroit in November. I hope to see some of you there.