- 05 October 2007 -
PLATERS/PAINTERS Profile: Professional Plating
BY REGINALD TUCKER

Professional Plating could dazzle you dizzy with its deep range of finishing services—rack zinc plating, barrel zinc plating, acrylic e-coating, epoxy e-coating, custom powder coating, and specialty ceramic coatings, to name a few. But it’s not just about diversity for diversity’s sake. The real hook, company principals note, is doing all of these things on a level of quality that’s repeatable and consistent—every time.

“It’s all about taking our customer to an impossible place,” said Larry Dietz, general manager of the Brillion, Wis.–based finisher. But that doesn’t mean impossible to meet their needs, he explains. What he means is, “making it harder for the competition to get after us.”

That’s an especially critical approach in today’s highly competitive environment—a state Dietz half-jokingly refers to as “commodity hell.” With so many of the market-savvy platers responding to today’s challenges via greater diversification, specialization, or by generally ramping up service levels, the need to further differentiate one’s offerings has never been more dire.

“Everyone here knows what we mean when we say you have to differentiate and ‘un-imitate,’ ” Dietz said. “Though we all know you need to do a fair amount of that commodity stuff, we know it’s equally important to do it differently. For example, this could be a specific emphasis on controls, or tight parameters that you establish in your processes. It could even be the way you package or label the finished product. As a result, even that commodity [customer] feels better because of the level of personalization and customization you’re offering.”

A case in point relative to specific finishing operations is Professional Plating’s custom powder coating capabilities. According to Dietz, the company can provide literally hundreds of colors for motorcycle, ATV, snowmobile, or general automotive restoration projects. Then there’s the firm’s proprietary e-coating process (ProAdvantage), whereby parts are submersed in its e-coat process as a primer, then followed up with a powder-coated color of the client’s choice. Combined, these steps significantly increase part longevity while providing superior rust and corrosion prevention, the company said.

Proprietary processes are also employed in Professional Plating’s zinc rack and barrel lines. ProDura, the company’s signature finish, provides extended corrosion protection while exceeding most salt spray specifications for black chromate and RoHS-compliant clear. Likewise, its state-of-the-art powder-coating system entails a 10-stage process, including a pretreatment application of iron phosphate and non-chrome sealant to maximize corrosion protection for demanding end-use applications.

Professional Plating’s value-added services don’t end there. In fact, they even extend beyond coating and plating. This finisher also provides more-than-ample logistics services via a fleet of four company-owned trucks. These “rolling billboards,” as Dietz calls them, fan out across its sprawling service area, ready to pick up parts from the client’s location and drop them off when completed. And did we mention fast? “When we pick up the customer’s parts, they’re here today; they don’t sit at a terminal overnight,” Dietz explained. And in appreciation for the customer’s need for a fast turnaround, the company strives to enter into the process everything it brings in one day and starts the finishing process that same day.

Flexibility is another ace in its deck. Professional Plating is just as open to jobs involving larger pieces as it is with mom-and-pop projects. “We’re not captive by any means,” Dietz said. Nor is it overly concerned with those “go-away” customers who have outsourced their finishing work to offshore operators. With lean manufacturing and the transformation of business, he believes that infrastructure will be much harder to maintain over the long haul. Additionally, he said firms like his can handle the smaller runs more profitably than offshore firms.

“We try to make it hard for customers to walk away from us,” Dietz professes. It’s a mentality that—to him—is not much different than the layman’s customer-service experience. “Think of the best place that you’ve been on vacation, or the best dinner you’ve ever had. Now think of the reasons why you keep going back there.”

For many of Professional Plating’s devoted clients, it’s a very compelling analogy. “They do many quick turnarounds for us, and they’re extremely professional—as the name implies,” said Tina Nair, purchasing manager of Mosinee, Wis.–based G3 Industries, a customer specializing in wire forming for the lawn and garden industry. “We’ve never had a problem with them, and their work is outstanding. They are our primary plater and painter.”

That consistent customer-service experience is shared by Scott Spude, supply chain manager for N.E.W. Industries, a Sturgeon Bay, Wis.–based commercial machinery, manufacturing, and repair operation. N.E.W., a Professional Plating customer for about 12 years, primarily relies on the finisher for zinc-plated products. “They turn the product around in less than five days, which is somewhat unusual in this industry, especially with the amount of volume that we do with them,” Spude said. “They’re an outstanding company and very responsive and proactive. Plus, the environmental aspects of their operation are very good—above standards, actually—better than I’ve seen at any other plating company. And they have trucks here four times a week, so their service is excellent.”

(For more on this story, see the October issue of Metal Finishing.)