Most area residents have seen Chemcoat, Inc. products during their everyday activities- most just didn't realize it.
From Steel joists to metal roof fasteners, Chemcoat has been providing paint and coatings to industrial equipment since 1952.
"It's very diverse," said Dorothy Schopfer, ISO coordinator and compliance manager.
But as Schopfer explained, the company has been in business since 1880 but under a different name.
Chemcoat started as Glow Paint Works and was located on Grace Street before moving to Market Street.
The company was on the move in 1952 as it was forced to move due to the construction of the Carl E. Stotz Memorial Bridge, which is when they moved to Montoursville where they still are located today.
Schopfer said there are two different types of paint the kind for houses that most think of and industrial paint that companies use for equipment and products. Chemcoat specializes in industrial paint.
Chemcoat sees the process through from what conditions the paint needs to perform under to testing it out in the customer's facilities.
"A lot of times our customers don't even know what they want," Schopfer said, "We end up making a (specification) for them."
As Art Nonemaker, sales manager, explained when meeting with a customer, they figure out exactly what the coating needs to do for the product.
If an oven manufacturer needs a coating, then it has to withstand a certain temperature and be able to dry in a set amount of time.
After knowing what the coating needs to do for the customer's product, Chemcoat creates a unique formula for each order. After testing the coating in their own labs, they then take a sample to the customer's building for a final trial.
"We make up a sample - usually about a five-gallon sample and bring it to their facility," said Myral Bonnell, president.
Chemcoat keeps the formulas on record in case a customer would like to order another batch of their specialized coating. Customers can buy any amount of paint from the company from 1 gallon to an entire tanker truck. Chemcoat owns tanker trucks that can deliver about 4,000 gallons of a coating.
One of the big services Chemcoat provides for is the steel joist market officials said the company is about 75 percent of the North American market for steel joist coating.
Nonemaker said how their coating is seen on a lot of the steel joists seen in the area's stores.
"Next time you're at Walmart, look up and you'll see (steel joists)," he said.
The company is exploring ultra violet coatings for some of its customers, and said the ever-changing market is just part of business.
"Every five to seven years you have to kind of reinvent yourself because technology is always changing," Schopfer said.
Chemcoat is always changing officials said and trying new things to better serve their customers. They're not sure what the future holds but did say a certain cartoon family should watch out.
"It's hard to say but we're hitting the Jetsons pretty quick," Schopfer said.
