Capability
Finishing and Coating
HPS Fabrications finishes and coats in a large paint booth at our second Michigan facility in Madison Heights. Most fabricators send this step to an outside coater; we do not. Your assembly is fabricated, coated and inspected without leaving our organization.
| Facility | Large paint booth at our Madison Heights, Michigan facility |
|---|---|
| Applied to | Structural steel, weldments, assemblies, fabricated equipment |
| Position in the process | In house, the assembly never leaves HPS to be coated |
The step most fabricators send out
Ask a fabricator who paints their work and you will usually get the name of another company.
That is the norm, and it is where a lot of jobs come apart. The assembly leaves on a truck, sits in somebody else’s queue, comes back with a finish nobody at your supplier inspected, and if the coating is wrong the two companies discuss whose fault it is while your schedule moves.
We coat our own work, in our own booth, at our second facility in Madison Heights, which also runs fabrication and higher-volume production.
“As a one-stop shop we’re able to do the upfront engineering, the design analysis, the fabrication. And we also do finishing, which is not something a lot of fabricators have.”
Why in-house finishing changes the job
Three things follow from owning the step.
Nobody else’s queue. The coating slot is scheduled against our own build, not bid for against another shop’s customers.
One accountable party. If the finish is wrong, it is ours to put right. There is no conversation about whose fault it is.
Inspection continues. The same quality system that inspected incoming material and in-process welds covers the finish. It is not handed off and hoped for.
What it means for “one-stop shop”
The phrase is used loosely. For most fabricators it means cutting and welding in one building.
Here it means engineering, cutting on our own laser, waterjet and plasma, forming, welding, structural assembly, machining, coating, and installation with field support. One organization from the concept to the installed equipment.
Every time a project changes hands, risk goes up. Finishing is the handoff most people accept without thinking about it.
What to send
Tell us the assembly, the service environment, and any coating specification you have to meet. If your drawing calls out a finish specification, send that too.
Common questions
Finishing and Coating: questions buyers ask
Do you coat in house, or send it out?
In house. There is a large paint booth at our second facility in Madison Heights, Michigan. A finished assembly never leaves our control to be coated by someone else.
Why does that matter?
Because a coater is one more handover, and every time a project changes hands, risk goes up. It is also usually where a schedule slips: your job sits in someone else's queue and nobody at either company owns the delay.
Can you coat something you did not fabricate?
Ask us. Tell us the part, the size and the finish you need and we will tell you straight whether we are the right shop for it.
What sizes can you handle?
The booth takes large assemblies. Send the dimensions and we will confirm before you commit.
Is the finish the last step, or do you deliver and install too?
We can go all the way through. HPS covers concept, design, fabrication, assembly and installation, with field support.