Tim Durkin has a fairly simple approach to quality control when it comes to coating parts as supervisor at Hirschi Powder Coating in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tim Durkin“We are the last ones to touch the part and the first ones to get blamed if something goes wrong with the coating,” he says. “So why not do it right the first time, every time?
That has been the approach since Durkin was hired in late 2020 to build and install a new powder coating operation for parent company Hirschi Iron, which fabricates and builds metal fencing for residential and commercial customers.
Sending Work to Contract Coaters
Previously, Hirschi Iron was sending all of its powder coating work out to contractors to be coated and returned to be installed before the decision to bring it all in-house. They hired Durkin to set up the fabrication and powder coating areas to make them more cohesive and efficient.
“I had to set up the welders and the fab tables, as well as the powder coating booths and ovens,” Durkin says. “I have a background in manufacturing and automation, as well as with liquid and powder coatings, so this was something I had some expertise in.”
Durkin came to Hirschi from an auto restoration operation that was being run out of a Nevada prison of all places. The High Desert State Prison is the largest major institution in the state’s Department of Corrections, with over 4,000 inmates in 1,576,000 square feet of space.
The inmates restore vehicles for a unit of Silver State Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nevada’s Department of Corrections. “We Have the Time to Do It Right” is one of the mantras on the unit’s corporate website; “Built with Conviction” is another.
“It was great to give these guys some skills that they can learn and use on the outside,” Durkin says. “Although some of these guys were double lifers, and they were using hammers and tools, so it did present its challenges.”
New Space for Fabrication and Powder Coating
Hirschi wanted Durkin to set up the powder coating operation to not only do their own fabrication work but also to be able to solicit work from other fabricators and manufacturers in the Las Vegas area.
The outside work has panned out, as Hirschi Powder Coating also does work for the gaming industry and other architectural manufacturers in the area.
Durkin was hired in November 2020 to start the planning process, which culminated with the first parts being powder coated in August of 2021.
The fabrication area — which includes several 12-foot fab tables — was moved to an adjacent 25,000 square-foot facility that also houses the powder coating equipment. Durkin oversaw new wiring in the building and equipment for the fabricators and coaters that makes the process more streamlined.
“Their previous space was very tight, and they were tripping over each other,” he says. “Now, they can build 30-foot sections of fencing with ease. There is a lot of space to do what they all do best.”
Durkin worked with UDC Corporation in Anaheim to construct the batch system and ovens and ordered Nordson powder coating guns to be the main application equipment of the system.
“The first job in powder coating I ever had was using Nordson guns, and I think they are an extremely well-made product,” he says. “That was one of the first decisions I made when designing this system.”
A Plethora of Top-Notch Suppliers
The Hirschi Powder Coating system includes Kelco blasting equipment, as well PEM equipment for parts cleaning and pretreatment, and Calvary Industries for the chemicals. The shop uses powders from Tiger Drylac, as well as Sherwin-Williams and Cardinal.
Hirschi Powder Coating is now coating all of the fencing and ironworks from their fabrication division, and Durkin is looking to expand their capabilities without other manufacturers by possibly attaining architectural specifications.
The Hirschi Companies group has more than 600 employees doing masonry, trucking, fabrication, fence manufacturing, and now powder coating. One of the benefits of also having its own powder coating operation is the flexibility in turn-around time.
“If the fence guys have a product in the field that has been damaged somehow, they can easily call us at the shop, and we can coat a new part and get it out to them instead of waiting for a contractor to do the work,” Durkin says. “You simply cannot beat that speed of having your own coating equipment.”
The shop currently has five coaters working for Durkin, but he expects that to grow as he brings in more gaming customers and other manufacturers from the outside. One thing he does miss as he oversees the entire operation is the coating itself.
“I miss painting,” Durkin says. “I really do, and so every now and again, I’ll go out on the shop floor and get myself dirty again because I enjoy the process so much.”
