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Five-time Top Shop honoree Surface Technology Inc. rises to the top of the Electroplating & Anodizing Benchmarking Survey.

Each year, Products Finishing conducts its Top Shops Benchmarking Survey, a program designed to aid finishing shops in measuring their key operating metrics against others in the industry. Originally launched in 2015, Top Shops helps finishers identify optimal shop floor practices and improve operations and business procedures.

“The PF Top Shops Benchmarking Survey is celebrating its 7th year of providing industrial finishers with a deep dive on how their shop is performing along with comparing their data against their peers,” says Products Finishing publisher Todd Luciano.

You may have noticed a few changes in the program this year, including a change in the timing of the survey. Since the program’s inception, Gardner Intelligence, the market research and data analysis division of Gardner Business Media, has sought to constantly improve Top Shops.

“Top Shops was designed primarily for the benefit of individual shops who are sent custom benchmarking reports. For benchmarking to remain relevant and useful, however, the Gardner Intelligence team regularly evolves Top Shops program elements,” explains Jan Schafer, director of market research at Gardner Intelligence. “This year, for example, we enabled more and different shops to participate in Products Finishing’s Top Shops by allowing them to complete the survey according to their schedule and data availability rather than limiting submissions to a certain few weeks.”

According to Schafer, another important enhancement made this year is a restructuring of Top Shops datasets so several years of data can be combined. “Larger datasets make for more stable benchmarks, and they mean we can look at smaller segments of like shops (e.g. chrome finishers) for tighter comparisons that are reasonably robust,” Schafer says. “Larger datasets also support analyses like drivers analysis which helps shops identify performance metrics that matter most to improvement plans.”

Hundreds of shops participate in Top Shops annually, resulting in a wealth of data and statistics that prove invaluable for assessing areas of improvement, such as finishing technology, performance and practices, business strategy, and human resources. Below you’ll find this year’s entire list of qualifying Top Shops, as well as the #1 ranking top shop in each category.

Electroplating & Anodizing

This year’s #1 Top Shop in the Electroplating & Anodizing category is Surface Technology Inc. (STI) of Ewing, N.J., a company specializing in composite electroless nickel plating systems.

“Our company has a longstanding business model of investing in composite electroless nickel to cultivate this specialized technology within the broader plating world,” says Michael Feldstein, president of STI. “We have done this through decades of research and development and scaling up our capabilities, so we have been able to coat both prototype and routine orders in a wide variety of such composite coatings (EN with Teflon, diamond from sub-micron to grit size particles, silicon carbide, boron nitride, phosphorescent particles, etc). We have been the pioneer in these technologies from patents to prototypes to production. And we have been the world leader by not only doing the processes here in our shop but by making and providing the chemical solutions and know-how to other plating shops around the world (both job and captive shops). Part of our model, especially as a specialized shop in an area like New Jersey, has been to build a network of shops around the U.S. and worldwide to which we can refer jobs for standard EN and coat their orders for composite EN until they have a sufficient volume to add the composite baths to their shop’s portfolio.”

Learn more about STI’s latest innovation here.

Liquid and Powder Coating

powder coating, powder coating industry, finishing

Georgia Powder Coating (GPC) is constantly working to improve its operation and has invested in new equipment year after year. 

Georgia Powder Coating (Gainesville, Ga.) has qualified as a Top Shop every year since the program and this year placed first in the Liquid and Powder Coating Benchmarking Survey for the second year in a row.

“Without the benchmarking survey we wouldn’t know what the industry is doing at large — until the Top Shops program there was no way of knowing where you stand,” says Dallas Cooley, vice president of GPC.

Cooley goes on to talk about the program as a tool for gaining insight into his company’s place in the industry at large. “We have never viewed the Top Shops program as competition, but more collaboration with our industry companions,” he says. “Receiving the recognition as a Top Shop is humbling because of our awareness of the truly great companies in our industry, they are doing amazing things. I am honored to comment on GPC’s behalf, however, if not for 100 others like Ramon Salinas who cleans our facility with excellence, to Counte Cooley our President, I would not have much to speak about, they are all heroes to me. We are currently in talks with city officials and architects in hopes to double our facility size and capacity, all the while praying for wisdom and trusting in God.”

Electroplating and Anodizing Top Shops Honorees

Ace

David Vaughn, President

Hillside, Ill.

acemetalfinishing.com

Active Metal Finishing

Allan Phillips, President

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

activemetalfinishing.com

Advanced Metal Finishing Inc.

Dwayne Robinson, President

Roanoke, Va.

amfva.com

Aircraft X-ray Laboratories

Gray Newton, CEO

Huntington Park, Ca.

aircraftxray.com

AM Metal Finishing Inc.

Sloane Hunter, Vice-President

Orlando, Fla.

ammetal.com

American Metal Coatings

Konstantine "Dino" Dotsikas, Owner & President

Mentor, Ohio

americanmetal.com

Avtec Finishing Systems Inc.

Pete Waldo, CEO

New Hope, Minn.

thelindgrengroup.com

Cadillac Plating Corporation

Nick Salvati, Director of Operations

Warren, Mich.

cadillacplating.com

ChromeTech of Wisconsin, Inc.

Alan Henry, President

Franklin, Wis.

chrometech.net

Electroplating & Surface Engineering SA de CV

Francisco Granados, Director

Celaya, GTO, Guanajuato, Mexico

eplating.com.mx

Electro-Spec, Inc.

Jeff Smith, President

Franklin, Ind.

electro-spec.com

Elite Metal Finishing

Dan Rose, President

Oceanside, Calif.

elite-metalfinishing.com

Global Metal Finishing Inc.

Tamea Franco, Chief Executive Officer

Roanoke, Va.

globalmetalfinishing.com

Great Lakes Metal Finishing Inc.

David Wachter, General Manager

Erie, Pa.

goglmf.com

Hohmanplating

Brad Kremer, President

Dayton, Ohio

hohmanplating.com

Houston Plating & Coatings, LLC

William Howard, CEO

South Houston, Texas

houstonplating.com

IPS

Enrique Mereles Jr., Sales & Marketing Director

San Diego, Calif.

ipsfinishing.com

KC Jones Plating Company

Robert Burger, President

Warren, Mich.

kcjplating.com

Lustrous Metal Coatings Inc.

Mike Paxos, President

Canton, Ohio

lustrousmetal.com

Microfinish

William M. Stock, President

Saint Louis, Mo.

microfinishco.om

Miramar Metal Processing Inc.

Marcos Cielak, President

San Diego, Calif.

mmpus.com

Pioneer Metal Finishing

Scott Kettler, President and COO

Green Bay, Wis.

pioneermetal.com

Plateco Inc.

Jim Schweich, Chief Executive Officer

Reedsburg, Wis.

zincplating.company

Plating for Electronics

Stephen Davino, CEO

Waltham, Mass.

p4e.com

Plating Technology

Matt Raskin, President

Dayton, Ohio

platingtech.com

Professional Plating Inc.

Larry Dietz, General Manager

Brillion, Wis.

proplating.com

Recubrimientos Metalicos de Mexico

Carlos, CEO

Mexico City, Mexico City

recubrimientosmetalicos.com

Roy Metal Finishing Company

Richard Wright, President

Piedmont, S.C.

RoyMetalFinishing.com

Surface Technology Inc.

Michael Feldstein, President and Director of Innovation

Ewing, N.J.

surfacetechnology.com

Surtronics Inc.

Angela Stanley, CEO

Raleigh, N.C.

surtronics.com

Technical Plating Inc.

Tyler Thomas, Vice President

Brooklyn Park, Minn.

techplating.com

Temecula Quality Plating Inc.

Duke Vo, President

Temecula, Calif.

temeculaplating.com

The Electrolizing Corporation of Ohio

Greg Marn, General Manager

Cleveland, Ohio

ECofOhio.com

U.S. Chrome Corp. of New York

John Carpenter, CEO

Batavia, N.Y.

uschrome.com

Valence Surface Technologies - Grove

Tracy Glende, CEO

Grove, Okla.

valencest.com

Valence Surface Technologies - Lynwood

Tracy Glende, CEO

Lynwood, Calif.

valencest.com

Valley Plating

Paul Strehlow, Owner

Green Bay, Wis.

valleyplatinggreenbay.com

 

Liquid and Powder Coating Top Shops Honorees

Ace Anodizing & Impregnating Inc.

David Vaughn, President

Hillside, Ill.

acemetalfinishing.com

All-Color Powder Coating, Inc.

Mark Mortensen, President

Oregon, Wis.

allcolorpowdercoating.com

Apex Anodizing, Inc.

Matt Roberts, President

Portland, Ore.

apexanodizing.com

Barrette Outdoor Living

Charles Howison, Vice President

Brooksville, Fla.

barretteoutdoorliving.com

BFG Manufacturing Service

Michael Grube, President

Punxsutawney, Pa.

zincplating.com

Bristol Powdercoat

Allan Phillips, Business Manager

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

metalfinishingcenter.com

ColorFast Industrial Powder Coating

Jay Ridley, President

Oklahoma City, Okla.

ColorFastOK.com

Colourfast Corp.

Joseph Manzoli, President

Concord, Ontario, Canada

colourfastcorp.com

Freedom Finishing

Gloria Ender, President

Benton Harbor, Mich.

freedomfinishing.com

Georgia Powder Coating

Dallas Cooley, VP Sales

Gainesville, Ga.

georgiapowdercoating.com

JIT Powder Coating Company

Tim Milner, Owner/President

Farmington, Minn.

jitpowdercoating.com

Mettler Toledo LLC

Herb Aten, general manager

Columbus, Ohio

mt.com

Micron Metal Finishing

Brad Watt  &   Scott Router, Co-owners

Bridgeview, IL

micronmetalfinishing.com

Mid West Coatings

Jennifer Friel, CEO

Lancaster , Ohio

mwfcoatings.com

Militex Coatings Inc.

Andre Maas, President

London, Ontario, Canada

militex.ca

Performance Powder Coating, LLC

Heath Walter, Owner

Longwood, Fla.

performancepowdercoating.com

Prime Restoration

Cory McCabe, Owner\President

Memphis, Tenn.

primerestore.com

Profile Finishing Systems

Chris Knuth, CEO

Kaukauna, Wis.

profilefinishing.com

Pro-Kote, LLC

Lanny L Woods, Owner

Jackson, Tenn.

prokotellc.com

Recubrimientos Metalicos de Mexico

Carlos Cielak, CEO

Mexico City, Mexico

recubrimientosmetalicos.com

Select Powder Coating

Cole Scego, President

Union, Mo.

selectpowdercoating.com

Speedy's Industrial

Kelly Jordan, Owner

Ozark, Mo.

speedyspowdercoating.com

Surgical Coatings

James Morri, President

Sedalia, Colo.

surgicalcoatings.com

Westside Finishing Company, Inc.

Korey Bell, President

Holyoke, Mass.

wsfinish.com

Winona Powder Coating, Inc.

Jamie Visker, Owner/CEO

Etna Green, Indiana

winonapowder.com

Houston Plating & Coatings

William Howard, CEO

South Houston, Texas

houstonplating.com

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