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ENLARGE
Each week the Free Press profiles a local business who has used the resources of The Business Incubator Center, the Grand Valley's center for entrepreneurship.
David Leach didn't wait for his job to be shipped overseas before moving on to something else.
Leach used to work for Hamilton Sundstrand, a designer and manufacturer of aerospace systems. When the Grand Junction company was bought by United Technology Corporation in 1999, he predicted rightly that most of those jobs would eventually be transferred to Singapore.
“We knew we'd have to do something. The decision we made was to try something on our own,” said David Leach.
Leach and his wife, Terri, opened Pro Powder Coating, 549 Bogart Lane, in April 2004.
Pro powder coating refers to a process of applying a decorative and protective finish to metal products that involves spraying a powder of finely ground particles of pigment and resin onto the surface to be coated, and then baking it at a temperature of about 400 degrees F.
“Then you pull it out, cool it and it's ready to go,” Terri said.
First the product is sand or soda blasted if needed. Then it's run through a hot pressure washer that lightly etches the metal so the powder will adhere to it.
The coating emits no volatile organic compounds and creates a more lasting finish, Leach said.
The company has pro powder-coated hand rails, bike frames, metal tables, various decorative cut-outs, car wheels and air conditioner vents.
Pro Powder Coating has also applied the finish to the pedestals for Grand Junction's Art on the Corner sculptures; coated a custom-made motorcycle that ended up winning first place at a Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and made more cheery a pair of crutches for a woman who wanted a royal blue color instead of the typical silver.
The company has access to more than 6,000 different colors, Leach said.
“What's fun about this business is watching people come in with their ideas and inventions,” Terry said.
Terri does the bookkeeping and payroll for the business. Her husband is a manufacturing engineer. Together they make a good team, she said.
To get started Terri sought the services of the Business Incubator Center, a nonprofit that offers entrepreneurial assistance to new and expanding businesses in Mesa County. The Incubator is located at 2591 B-3/4 Road.
“I didn't have a business degree so I used them basically to learn how to start a business,” Terri said. “And they've been a really good resource if we have any questions.”
Terri twice attended the Incubator's comprehensive Leading Edge business course and has consulted one-on-one with small business counselors on numerous occasions.
The company has four other employees, all cross-trained to do every part of the process, whether sand or soda blasting when necessary, or powder spraying.
Striking out on their own has been a good move.
“I love it,” Leach said. “I like being in business for yourself.”
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
Leach used to work for Hamilton Sundstrand, a designer and manufacturer of aerospace systems. When the Grand Junction company was bought by United Technology Corporation in 1999, he predicted rightly that most of those jobs would eventually be transferred to Singapore.
“We knew we'd have to do something. The decision we made was to try something on our own,” said David Leach.
Leach and his wife, Terri, opened Pro Powder Coating, 549 Bogart Lane, in April 2004.
Pro powder coating refers to a process of applying a decorative and protective finish to metal products that involves spraying a powder of finely ground particles of pigment and resin onto the surface to be coated, and then baking it at a temperature of about 400 degrees F.
“Then you pull it out, cool it and it's ready to go,” Terri said.
First the product is sand or soda blasted if needed. Then it's run through a hot pressure washer that lightly etches the metal so the powder will adhere to it.
The coating emits no volatile organic compounds and creates a more lasting finish, Leach said.
The company has pro powder-coated hand rails, bike frames, metal tables, various decorative cut-outs, car wheels and air conditioner vents.
Pro Powder Coating has also applied the finish to the pedestals for Grand Junction's Art on the Corner sculptures; coated a custom-made motorcycle that ended up winning first place at a Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and made more cheery a pair of crutches for a woman who wanted a royal blue color instead of the typical silver.
The company has access to more than 6,000 different colors, Leach said.
“What's fun about this business is watching people come in with their ideas and inventions,” Terry said.
Terri does the bookkeeping and payroll for the business. Her husband is a manufacturing engineer. Together they make a good team, she said.
To get started Terri sought the services of the Business Incubator Center, a nonprofit that offers entrepreneurial assistance to new and expanding businesses in Mesa County. The Incubator is located at 2591 B-3/4 Road.
“I didn't have a business degree so I used them basically to learn how to start a business,” Terri said. “And they've been a really good resource if we have any questions.”
Terri twice attended the Incubator's comprehensive Leading Edge business course and has consulted one-on-one with small business counselors on numerous occasions.
The company has four other employees, all cross-trained to do every part of the process, whether sand or soda blasting when necessary, or powder spraying.
Striking out on their own has been a good move.
“I love it,” Leach said. “I like being in business for yourself.”
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
