Hack Wallace had $1,000 that he had borrowed, and a not-too-farfetched idea: he wanted to start a weekend painting business with his son, Terry. This was in 1990 in Francisco, Indiana, in the southwest corner of the state, where Hack thought he and his son could make a living painting pole barns and grain bins.
They built their business the old fashioned ways, which was asking for the work through friends and neighbors.
“We knocked on a lot of doors, and finally acquired our customer base,” recalls Terry, now the owner of H&T Industrial Spray. “Eventually, we grew to a here-man operation, and had some modern equipment.”
Hack has since passed, but his son continues the business, which counts refinishing agricultural equipment, sand/media blasting and powder coating as its main industries that it serves.
Their industrial powder coating operation has grown to service several OEMs in the area, smaller production runs, motorcycle and automotive parts, and furniture.
“Anything metal that can withstand being heated to 400 degrees for 10 minutes,” Terry says.
Specializing in Powder Coating, Outdoor Structures
The facility has a 26 x 40 x 12 blast room, but H&T also still specializes in various outdoor structures, such as oil tank batteries, propane storage facilities, grain storage facilities, industrial equipment and pole buildings, which is back to their original roots.
In 1994, Heck’s brother, Henry, joined the crew for a short period of time. When Henry died a few years later, Hack decided to give Terry total control of the business. Terry left the name the same and in 1996, with the help of a friend, was able to triple the customer base while still only working on weekends.
By 1998, the business had grown to double the sales it had in 1996, and a part-time employee had to be added. Today, Wallace has Dee Davis as his office manager, and Jennifer McKay is their sales manager.
Recently, H&T Industrial Spray added iron phosphate treatment and a steam machine to their stable of offerings and have some additional expansion plans.
“Our plans in the next few years is to update to a large media blasting hut and update the size of our oven to meet the needs of much larger industrial needs,” Wallace says. H&T Industrial Spray has six employees, all on one shift.
“We are a family atmosphere, and team-oriented employment,” Davis says. “We have a sales rep that is involved on more one-on-one, door-to-door approach. We really strive to put good products out, and have a lot of word of mouth.”
Reconditioning Old Train
H&T Industrial Spray utilizes Sherwin-Williams, PPG and American Powder Coating as their main equipment and material suppliers.
Wallace says that one of the most satisfying projects his team worked on was when they painted an old train that been sitting idle at a coal mine for several years.
“We were able to bring it back to life with its original colors,” Wallace says. “And now it is setting in a museum where everyone can enjoy its beauty.”
