How to Build a Powder Coating Brand

Maui Powder Works (Kahului, HI), Hawaii’s leading powder coater run by husband-and-wife team Ross and Kim Scott, got its start in 2010 when Ross, a 20-year veteran of the painting industry, found himself frustrated with the results he was getting using liquid paint for coating metal air conditioning registers. “I had experience restoring boats and furniture — I was a master painter, but was tired of slow dry times, surface rejection and endless primer coats,” he says. In his search for the perfect finish, Ross tried powder coating and was convinced that it should become the focus of his business.

From the very beginning, Ross’s mission was all about finding the best metal coating solutions available and providing them to his customers. These hallmarks of running a forthright business may sound like a familiar recipe for success, but the way the Maui Powder Works grew its business from there is a story uniquely its own. With the drive to be much more than an island powder coating shop, Ross and Kim have been on a mission to build a powder coating brand with as much notoriety as anything on the mainland.

Building a following

Ross’s passion for the craft led to a desire to share his metal coating expertise with the coatings industry at large. He put his faith in Kim’s media savvy and together, the pair have grown the business into a recognized and respected voice in the finishing community. In addition to running Maui Powder Works, the dynamic duo also record and produce the Powder Coater Podcast (also known as RossKote) — a weekly podcast that explores industry secrets, new products and trends in the world of powder coating.

It all started with an effort to improve the company’s SEO ranking. Kim poured her energy into growing the company’s social media presence and page ranking organically. The effort paid off in spades when Google adjusted its algorithm during the COVID pandemic quarantines. Maui Powder Works found itself propelled to the top of search results.

“O’ahu is looked to as the center of business for Hawaii — they don’t look to the outer islands,” Kim says. “We up-ended that by becoming number one. We basically told the state of Hawaii that the hub of powder coating is on Maui!”

Ross and Kim found themselves with more and bigger projects from the largest contractors. Today, Maui Powder Works provides sandblasting and powder coating services for all of the Hawaiian islands. Even as the recognition for Maui Powder Works grew, the core of the business remained where it should — on the quality and value it provided its customers. Kim says that with tourism and the resorts making up the largest part of Hawaii’s economy, the relationship with contractors and developers is crucial.

“The thing about Hawaii is that you’re nothing without your vendors,” she says. “If you can’t meet a deadline, it could make or break you. You’re only as good as your last job and you’re nothing without your reputation.”

Building relationships

Talking to Kim Scott is a bit like taking a master class in DIY marketing and brand building.

Maui Powder Works was built on high standards, but when you’re based on an island, finding ways to measure your quality against others in the industry can be its own challenge. Overcoming that sense of isolation from mainland competitors is something that the company has put a lot of work into. The podcast was started as a way to grow a sense of connection and community and Maui Powder Works has also utilized other tools such as the Top Shops Benchmarking Survey to measure itself against its peers. Kim recalls her first time taking the Top shops survey:

“When I was first going through those questions back in 2018, it really helped me think through what is expected in this industry,” she says. “Answering the questions posed in the survey gives us reason to pause for a moment and think deeper beyond straight-up financials. The results in a Top Shop Report can reveal the story of us beyond the numbers. The opportunities section in the report plays directly to goal setting either by validating what we thought we needed to do next or provoking the implementation of something we hadn't yet addressed.”

Through dedication to high quality, persistence to stay in tune with the latest in technologies and aesthetics, and an underlying yearning to share their experience with others in the industry, Maui Powder Works has climbed its way to the top in Hawaii and works hard to maintain that position. That’s the reason customers across the islands seek them out.

 “Even if they have to ship it, they want the best — the most experience and the largest capabilities,” Kim says. “You’ve got to come here.”

As for the podcast, to date, RossKote has released more than 50 episodes, not including bonus content, and shows no signs of slowing down. The programming delves into everything from tips and tricks for getting the right finish to trends in powder coating to insights from industry influencers.

“I think where it all started was in social media — Instagram, mainly, but sometimes Facebook,” Kim says. “I started paying attention to what other companies were doing on social media. And it wasn’t just about what platform — I was in the trenches testing myself and watching others do their jam. I started to see it as an artistic form — there’s a method to the madness.”

So just what is that method — the secret to success? It seems to lie in authenticity. The Scott’s passion for the powder coating community is infectious. Between Ross’s obsession with finding the perfect finish for any given application and Kim’s tireless efforts to connect with the powder coating community, Maui Powder Works’ mission is to not only provide its customers with great finishes, but also help foster idea sharing amongst powder coaters.

As Kim says, “We’re all learning from each other, right?”