Straightforward Success

Nestled in the heart of Green Bay, Wisconsin, a stone’s throw from Lambeau Field — pretty much everything in Green Bay is near Lambeau — sits Valley Plating, a nondescript plating shop in an unadorned building with painted plywood siding. Whether you enter the front “office” door or the side utility door, you end up in the same place — an open room with two black oxide lines and boxes and boxes of parts. There’s nothing fancy about Valley Plating. Yet, old school plating shops like this one prove that sometimes running a good business is about doing one thing and doing it well.

Despite its spartan facility, Valley Plating’s black oxide operation has landed them on Products Finishing’s Top Shops list multiple times. The company specializes in one thing — black oxide, a chemical conversion coating that forms a black iron oxide on ferrous metal surfaces. Valley Plating coats industrial parts — “mostly machine parts” says owner Paul Strehlow — and uses its expertise to coat all types of metal including steel, cast iron and ductile iron.

Valley Plating is run by Strehlow, his brother Seth Strehlow and their cousin Aaron Regal. The shop has been a family-owned business since Paul’s father bought the facility. Originally the plating shop was part of a metal fabricator known as Valley Fabricating and Plating. When that company moved to a larger facility, the plating shop remained in the location and was split off from the parent organization. Eventually, Paul’s father bought the shop and struck out on his own.

Since then, Valley Plating has kept things simple. The facility has two black oxide lines. It doesn’t typically deal in high volume work, but the jobs processed get focused attention and a quick turnaround — typical turnaround is next day. Never say never, but Strehlow is more interested in continuously improving Valley Plating’s singular focus than adding additional capabilities. The company has invested in new 80” x 48” x48” tanks and a crane capable of handling parts up to 2,000 pounds.

Often, when Products Finishing speaks with Top Shops, they share common advice: “know your business.” Valley Plating certainly knows theirs. A visit to the company website (valleyplatinggreenbay.com), says it all with an unassuming greeting: “Welcome to Valley Plating: Your Place for Black Oxide.” A click on a “shop” button reveals a single product: black oxide.

So, what lands a small operation like Valley Plating on the Top Shops list? Ask Strehlow about what matters most and he will tell you a straightforward recipe for success — customer service, quality and a quick turnaround.