When it comes to aerospace parts, less is often more, especially considering the weight of the part. That is one reason Signature Plating in Cibolo, Texas, decided to launch a plating-on-plastic (POP) line several years ago to assist in helping private planes reduce weight and gain fuel efficiencies.
“These plastic parts are significant because of the weight reduction of the part, which is an important component of aircraft performance,” says Paul Sahanek, president of Signature Plating. “They look and feel like all metal parts, but are much lighter.”
Signature launched the line in late 2018 to fill a growing demand to reduce aircraft weight for cabin components for its current and future customers, many of whom are aircraft interior suppliers and designers who like the option to design and install lighter aircraft components requiring decorative plating.
Sahanek says it was the collaborative effort of several specialty companies over many months to install the 19-station POP line. Signature has a dedicated staff of chemist and line operators specifically groomed to support this process.
“The process of plating plastic is very technical and time-sensitive,” says Matthew McKnight, vice president of operations for Signature Plating. “Our technicians have been thoroughly trained by plastics plating experts on the best industry practices on proper equipment operation, as well as maintaining consistency of the plated parts.”
Expanding Reach and Customer Base
Signature Plating is known for its decorative plating that is used mostly in the private/business jet aircraft market, says Zane Leake, vice president of sales. But they have also made a significant effort to expand our reach and customer base during the past three years.
“We’ve established ourselves with some renowned international industrial design firms that are recognized leaders in multiple transportation and design markets,” Leake says. “This includes yachts, rail, and automotive. We have made an effort to anticipate needs within the markets that we serve and as such, have made substantial capital investments in new production lines over the years.”
Frank McKnight, Signature’s Chief Financial Officer, says the facility has doubled capacity and expanded its anodizing operation to support custom-color anodizing.
“We work with designers, OEM aircraft manufacturers, and individual owners that are looking for durable finishes to complement the decorative finishes in the aircraft,” McKnight says. “The anodizing can be matched to these finishes or as a complementing color. The airlines have also recognized the benefit of these durable anodize finishes for their high use surfaces.”
Experienced Management Team
Signature Plating was founded by Mike Donoho, who some say is the guy who could write the book on style and elegance meet functionality for custom aircraft interiors. As a former owner and CEO of Aircraft Belts, Inc. (ABI) for more than 25 years, Donoho provided the organizational vision that has helped build Signature Plating into a first-tier provider of top quality work, and building a solid management team:
- Sahanek was part of the original start-up of Signature Plating, coming on board after having overseen the construction of the facility as a member of Bexar electric. He took a two-year hiatus to pursue other opportunities before returning in 2011 as general manager. In 2017, he became the president of the company.
- Frank McKnight is considered one of the foremost experts of both aircraft restraint systems and aircraft interior decorative plating and is the former president of ABI. He is a partner in Signature Plating along with Sahanek and has a reputation as a customer service guru.
- With more than 30 years of diverse aviation experience, Leake brings a wealth of knowledge that translates to solid business practices and customer support. His past work provides a clear insight into virtually every aspect of the aviation world, from maintenance, operations, passenger relations, supply chain management, and sales and marketing.
- As VP of operations, Matthew McKnight provides a very diverse skill base in the decorative electroplating industry, including a thorough understanding of the production process, excellent customer relation skills, and his leadership position in Signature’s quality department.
- Anthony Donoho serves as Logistics Manager, where his perseverance, attention to detail, professionalism, and attitude come easy. He received his bachelor’s in business management from Texas State University and has worked for Signature Plating in various capacities since 2013.
- Production Manager James Gledhill came to Signature Plating in 2010 from Caterpillar Industries where he served as a Team Leader. A graduate of South Texas College, he is directly involved in the daily production planning meetings where his contributions are invaluable.
- Traci Ethridge is Customer Service Manager for the facility and first joined Signature Plating in 2003. She worked previously at ABI as a customer service representative where she gained great knowledge of the safety restraint industry as well as the plating side of the business aviation market.
- Lance Jeffers is Signature’s Facilities Manager; he starting in aviation in 1991 working for ABI as production manager and a Houston hospital as director of maintenance before rejoining the Signature team and having an immediate impact on their overall operations.
“We are known for our innovation and quality product, but our biggest asset is our team,” Sahanek says. “The entire staff is dedicated to always delivering to the customer on time. We believe that communication has to be, and is, our top priority with our customers and partners. We don’t succeed if we don’t bring value to our customers.”
Specific Service in a Competitive Market
Frank McKnight admits that Signature Plating offers a very specific service in a fairly competitive market, but they try to position themselves with companies that they feel they can help. He says the company often runs across a “program” that has wandered off track or had problems, but Signature Plating has through the years proven that they can help re-start and realign a program because of their knowledge of the industry and through the experience of their staff.
“We partner with a client to give visibility to the actual ‘real-time’ program costs, which is supported with daily, weekly, and monthly reports, whatever is needed,” McKnight says.
Leake says that one way that Signature Plating provides full transparency to the customer orders is through SignaTrack, a program they developed that gives the customer access to their in-process orders. He says a customer can log into a portal 24/7 from their phone, tablet, or desktop to see the status of their order in real-time.
“Once a customer experiences the effort Signature Plating makes in managing their programs, it is not forgotten,” Leake says.
In August, Signature Plating announced they were offering its durable clearcoat with an antimicrobial additive to not only protect its decorative finishes but those who will be handling the finished parts, including installers and passengers. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing demand for solutions to address the spread of bacteria in-cabin environments, the Signature Plating clearcoat will be applied directly to the metal parts surfaces.
Meeting Emerging Trends in Aerospace Coatings
Sahanek says the emerging trend for airlines, completion centers, MRO’s, and OEM suppliers is to provide interior products that have a germ and microbe inhibitor embedded in the specific materials to build confidence with the flying public and to offer a safe cabin environment.
“As long as this clearcoat is on the part, it will provide the antimicrobial barrier,” he says. “The antimicrobial inhibitor is suspended in the clearcoat and covers the whole part, and is spread throughout the thickness of the clearcoat.”
The Signature Plating Antimicrobial Clearcoat has been tested, passed, and certified to ISO 22196:2011 to reduce the microbes on the surface of the parts. The antimicrobial will not allow the microbes to live on the surface of the parts, thus preventing the spread of bacteria.
“COVID-19 has really changed the way people look at the transportation market, along with everything else,” Leake says. “We have been, and will continue to evaluate, processes that we can support that will help to address related on-going concerns related to COVID.”
Presence in the Middle East, Africa, India, and Asia
Signature Plating works with nearly all the major players in the aerospace industry, and in September signed a formal partnership with OmnAvia Interiors of Winston Salem, North Carolina, to offer interior solutions for customers needing soft goods and decorative metal finishes. OmnAvia has an international reach, which will help establish a presence for their Signature Plating services in the Middle East, Africa, India, and Asia.
The international reach of OmnAvia Interiors and Signature Plating will be based out of their office located in Dubai UAE. This location will be home to their product support and sales teams, and a central location in the region will ensure superior customer support, something both companies maintain is their highest priority.
Sahanek says Signature Plating is working to diversify its markets, especially with the pandemic’s hit on the aerospace industry. But he says his team is up the task.
“Challenge makes the blood flow, in a good way,” he says. “There’s no better place than our business to spend 10 or more hours a day with the best people in the world, and it’s our own Utopia.”
