Top Shop Tops Turnaround Times

There are not many people who moved from the mortgage industry to opening a powder coatings Top Shop. But that is exactly what Heath Walters, owner of Performance Powder Coating (Orlando, Florida), did. An entrepreneur at heart, he saw a need in the powder coating market and successfully filled it.

Walters’ adventure began when his friend had a project that necessitated powder coating. However, it was difficult to find a quality coater with acceptable turnaround times in the area. “So, it just seemed like an opportunity to enter this market,” he says.

Walters researched powder coating equipment and, on a whim, ordered a Reliant oven and paint booth (which the company still uses for prebaking and small batch jobs) and decided he would open a company. To say the least, the first 18 months of business ownership was a learning curve for him.

Since the company’s start in 2012, Walters has made great strides in gaining knowledge and business savviness in the coatings industry by focusing on quick turnaround times and customer needs. Although he dove in headfirst, the customer service skills he attained while working with mortgages have aided him in his day-to-day interactions with his powder coating customers and enabled him to understand the importance of building strong relationships with clients. With these skills, he has been able to stand out among his competition.

“The owner is typically working in the business, not on the business,” Walters explains. “If you’re out there in a powder booth coating material, it is very difficult to service your client, answer phone calls, put out estimates and do your job.”

Therefore, Walters began hiring employees within six months of opening with the idea that he would not have to regularly work on the shop floor for too long. However, he admittedly struggled to keep employees and even to train them.

“I don’t think I really knew what I was doing at that point,” he says. “Trying to train someone on something I wasn’t overly confident in was a difficult task.”

After a period of employee turnover, the 4,000-square-foot (at the time) Performance Powder Coating facility was finally able to retain hardworking employees. Ultimately, Walters says he wised up and asked vendors for help with training. “We eventually got to the point of putting out really solid quality products,” Walters says.

Since its opening, the now Products Finishing Top Shop has expanded to 20,000 square feet with a staff of about 15. The shop not only completes quality powder coating jobs and surface preparation but also provides pickup and delivery services. In its beginnings, it accepted residential powder coating work and miscellaneous jobs, but has since moved away from those to more stable and predictable work for the architectural, industrial and commercial industries. Government and military contracts, and work for the U.S. Space Center are among the newer jobs the company is filling.

The shop, which is a 100% batch operation, runs two cure ovens that are 30 feet long by 10 feet wide by 8 feet tall, and two powder booths. The newer oven is from GAT Finishing Systems and the newer powder booth is from Global Finishing. With the size of the ovens, Walters explains that his facility has the capacity to handle a variety of work that falls within those large parameters.

Customer service and quality control

Understanding and responding to customer needs is critical to business survival, and Walters grasps this concept well. Working with architectural clients, he is in tune with the fact that Performance Powder Coating’s services happen to fall at the end of his clients’ projects. Therefore, following through with quick turnaround time is crucial.

“There’s never an instance where we have a lot of time to get the job done,” he explains. “For us to be accurate with our turnaround times is really a large portion of customer service. We schedule jobs and make sure we get them done on time to help clients perform on their timelines.”

Walters emphasizes scheduling jobs ahead of time with his clients. When scheduling in advance is possible for clients, the shop can ensure a quicker turnaround time compared to a last-minute job. For example, if a client is looking for a two-day turnaround, scheduling ahead can guarantee that. Otherwise, turnaround might average four days instead.  

When customers or potential clients call, it is a priority that a person at his company answers the phone and that the call does not go to voicemail. But if that’s not possible, there is always a return phone call or email, Walters says. “We focus on making sure our clients are serviced from the first phone call to the install.”

Transparency is also important to the company, which requires communication with clients about how jobs will get done and when.

Once jobs are complete, Performance Powder Coating ensures the quality is top notch, according to Walters. The shop provides quality checks at every stage of the process. Even when new material comes in, the company has a quality control method for it to find defects if they are present.  

Survey says …

Walters attributes participation in PF’s Top Shops Benchmarking Survey as one of the catalysts to the shop’s attention to providing high quality products.

“I think the survey has made us more aware of some of the processes we do or do not have in place,” he explains. “When it comes to quality, years ago we had a little bit of QC in place, but now we realize how important it is to go through each stage of the process.”

He adds that answering questions on the survey has helped him realize that if the QC on the shop’s prep is good, then the rest of the job is typically good as well. Overall, the survey has helped improve some of the shop’s processes.

The word on a warranty

Walters focuses on following through on his promises to customers and building a reputation on that premise. “I want to be known as the company that comes through on our side of the bargain,” he says. “When we tell you it’s going to be ready on Tuesday, it’s ready on Tuesday.”

Concentrating on reliability, Performance Powder Coating also offers at least a one-year warranty on its work. There’s no paperwork necessary to process the warranty, only trust in the customer’s word, according to Walters.

Though the powder coating market has been strong in Florida for the past four to five years with the construction industry very busy, it is difficult to predict how long a healthy market will last. Therefore, Walters says he practices analyzing clients on a regular basis and fixates on their needs. “What can we do better? How can we help more? Are there prospective clients in our area that we can bring in?” he asks. He adds that he is constantly looking for ways to expand.