Business has been smoking hot of late for Sadler Powder Coating in Henderson, Texas, and rightly it should.
Cody SadlerThe grandchildren of the legendary founder of Sadler’s Smokehouse — which Hormel Foods purchased in 2019 – have turned what was once an unused small paint facility into an expansive paint and powder coating business.
Sadler Powder Coating was started in 2010 by brothers Cody, Seth, and Samuel Sadler in a 5,500-square-foot powder coating shop. Today, their business has grown to occupy more than 15 acres of workspace and a 20,000-square-foot facility.
“People have entrusted us with their business,” Cody says. “And we are getting stronger each year.”
4 Liquid Paint Shops, 2 Powder Coating Shops, 2 Sandblasting Shops
Cody, Seth, Isaac, and Vance Sadler.The Henderson facility — which is about two hours east of Dallas — is extensive, with two powder coating shops, four liquid paint booths, as well as two sandblasting shops.
Sadler Powder Coating offers a variety of services, including sandblasting, powder coating, FBE pipe and tank linings, commercial and industrial liquid painting, zinc-rich coatings, and CARC military coatings.
Over the last six months, the company started powder coating street sweepers for a local manufacturer. This helped initiate the expansion of their new 8,000 sq. ft concrete staging area, along with the addition of the second powder shop.
When the Sadler Brothers started the business over 12 years ago, they launched with just internally lining pipe with FBE coatings for saltwater disposal, along with residential patio furniture, automotive wheels, and other walk-in items.
Cody says that about year three, their oil and gas customers were sending them parts off equipment to be powder coated and inquired about Sadler Powder Coating offering liquid coatings, too.
“Our customers asked us, ‘why are you not painting?’” Cody says. “They said, ‘You’re powder coating items on our trailers, but the entire unit actually needs paint. You could be a one-stop shop.’ And so that really forced us into the liquid painting world.”
From there, they now powder coat and or paint pipe for oil and gas plants, equipment, commercial custom awnings, zip line roller coasters, water slides, and more.
Currently, the company is using liquid coatings on about 50% of all projects, even though the name of the company has stayed Sadler Powder Coating.
“We probably would have never used that name if we thought we were going to paint,” Cody says. “It confuses a lot of customers, but it’s not been a challenge or gotten in our way of capturing new liquid paint opportunities. If it can’t go in the oven and take the baked-on temperature, then we have the alternative to liquid paint.”
Roots Go Back to Sadler’s Smokehouse
Sadler Powder Coating has grown to occupy more than 15 acres of workspace and a 20,000-square-foot facility.Cody is the oldest of seven sons, and many of them worked for the barbecue company started by their grandparents, Harold and Mildred Sadler. Harold’s father, Red, actually put the Sadler name on the map in 1948 with his original barbecue restaurant, and it was Harold who later created and built the Sadler’s Smokehouse brand of fully cooked meats.
Over the last few decades, Sadler’s Smokehouse products were being sold to retail giants such as Walmart, Sam’s Club, and other large grocery distributors, becoming well known for their signature pit-cooked knowledge Harold learned from his father.
National restaurant chains such as TGI Fridays, Subway, and Arby’s have carried the Sadler’s Smokehouse product line. In 2007, the Sadler family sold the company but repurchased it again in 2010. By then, Cody and Seth were ready to branch out on their own.
“My parents owned our current property, which, 20 years prior, was a small industrial paint facility,” Cody says. “Our entrepreneurial roots kicked in, and so we started what is now Sadler Powder Coating.
Taking a Giant Leap of Faith to Open A Coatings Business
Seth had some previous knowledge of powder coating because of his Sadler’s Smokehouse days in the plant, but Cody did not. They combined their skill sets, rolled up their sleeves, and dove into the coating business.
“We just took a leap of faith,” Cody says. “Oil and gas were big here in East Texas, and FBE powders were used in lining pipe for saltwater disposal, and so we used that as a launching pad to start the business.”
In the early years, it was just a lot of cold calling, blood, sweat, and tears. With Seth’s operations background and Cody’s sales experience, they were able to steadily grow the business, albeit not without the challenges that come with being new owners and operators.
“Selling was always easy for me, but now I’m the sales force and CFO,” says Cody, who adds that his biggest challenge wasn’t selling anymore; it was ‘are we making money?’
“No more patting yourself on the back because you got a new customer,” he says. “As the CFO hat was then put on and the question became, ‘was the business profitable?’ We had to quickly learn where our costs came from, what hurts us, and how we become more efficient.”
29-Acre Spread Offers Space for Growth
As the business grew, they were able to better utilize and expand on the 29 acres that their facility operates.
Oil and gas have always been a big part of their business. However, during 2014 and 2015, the industry “took a hit,” Cody says, and at the time, it was probably 75% of their income.
Instead, the owners of Sadler Powder Coating began looking at other industries they could offer their coating services, and even though the business slowed due to the downturn, they actually built a second, third, and eventually fourth paint shops, which are all climate controlled and have their own force cure heat systems.
Picking Up More Military Work
They soon landed more business from the military industry than ever before, especially satellites. The facility also began working for a company that builds rock climbing walls and zipline roller coasters that are shipped all over the world.
Overall, Sadler Powder Coating now has 20 employees and plenty of space to grow. Aside from Seth and Cody, two other brothers also work at the company. In 2023, the company would like to add a fifth paint booth and possibly another sandblast shop.
“If the business had a lull, we built,” Cody says. “It’s really hard to build and expand in the middle of a busy growth year and under current economics like we’re doing now. But, as an entrepreneur, your chips are always pushed to the middle of the table.
