Protecting The Corporate Image
When Finn Corp. sends its products out the door, it's understood that those products will never again look quite the same. The company manufactures soil erosion control equipment: hydroseeders, strawblowers, mulch spreaders, and the like. It's a business that has been the Fairfield, OH-based
firm's specialty for more than 60 years and their products are top of the line.
But once a piece of equipment leaves the showroom, it is literally driven into the ground.
"Our equipment does see rough use," says Gerry Brankamp, Finn Corp.'s materials manager. "People take it over rough terrain, possibly in a construction area that has been torn up. There's going to be a lot of rocks, a lot of mud . . . yeah, it takes a beating out there."
Many Finn units are sold to municipalities for maintenance of public grounds and to DOTs to maintain road areas. Landscaping contractors form another important market, especially those who specialize in hydroseeding.
Hydroseeding is a technology that Finn Corp. pioneered over 50 years ago. Finn hydroseeders are either pulled on a trailer or truck-mounted. Basically, they consist of a tank with a hydraulically driven agitator inside. The user fills the tank with water, grass seed, fertilizer, and a tackifier (a biodegradable wood-and-paper, mulch-type substance that serves to hold the grass seed in place until the seed can germinate.) This mixture is then sprayed under pressure into the soil.
"It's the best way to put down grass seed and germinate it," according to Brankamp. "Putting it all down at once . . . the grass seed with water and fertilizer and a tackifier . . . using our equipment is a lot better than putting it down by hand and also a lot more cost-effective than putting down sod."
Finn hydroseeders range in size from 300-gallon capacity to 3300-gallons. In addition to the rough terrain, these products have to bear up to the fertilizer and other harsh chemicals used in the hydroseed mixture.
Then there's the human element: certain customers just will not take care of their equipment as well as they should.
Given the conditions under which they operate, the Finn Corp.'s products can't be expected to keep their showroom luster for very long. But that hasn't stopped the company from seeking ways and means to prolong that "like new" appearance.
"We're always looking for ways to improve," says Brankamp, who is responsible for purchasing all materials used in production, including the coatings applied to Finn equipment. "It's definitely an ongoing thing. If I see something that may be better, I will pursue it."
About five years ago, after a few customer complaints, Finn Corp. began pursuing new paint possibilities. They started by contacting Industrial Paint & Supply Co., a distributor located across the Ohio River in Ft. Mitchell, KY.
Longer Lasting Appearance
"They wanted the appearance to hold up longer than they were getting from their current products," recalls Marty Berry, IP&S' general manager. "The paint they were using on their products was losing its gloss more quickly than they liked and was not highly resistant to chemicals."
Berry spent six or seven months working with Brankamp, learning the customer's needs and then testing different types of paints.
"We did a variety of application sprayouts using electrostatic equipment," adds Berry. "The feedback from testing for salt, moisture and chemical resistance was helpful, and the gloss/color retention data was very important. We had to make sure any paint system we recommended would work with their equipment."
In addition, Brankamp was concerned about ease of application and "reliability, which means I can put it on and it's going to look the same every time."
Evaluating the test results convinced Berry to recommend a two-part system from DuPont Industrial Coatings: DuPont 681, a phenolic alkyd primer, covered with IMRON® 333, a polyurethane well-known for its superior gloss and color retention. Brankamp agreed: "The tests proved this system would give us what we were looking for."
Every Finn product is topcoated with DuPont IMRON® 333 at their headquarters facility where they have two large paint booths and a smaller booth with a conveyor line for parts. Some equipment is blasted and primed by a subcontractor; the rest is power-washed with a phosphate cleaner and primed with DuPont 681FD. As soon as the primer dries, IMRON® 333 in the selected color is applied. All painting is done electrostatically. The company is able to finish four or five pieces of equipment per day.
While most of the equipment is produced in the official Finn Corp. beige color scheme, the company occasionally does receive requests for custom colors.
"When they want something different we try to get a paint chip or a paint code from the customer," notes Brankamp. "I'll take that to IP&S and they will paint some samples. We then express mail that to the customer to approve. With the DuPont system, we're almost always able to match the request."
Taken Into Account
Since switching to the 681/IMRON® 333 system, Finn customer complaints have fallen sharply. In terms of cost per gallon, the switch cost more, but was offset by upside factors. "The justification is in the way it looks and the way it holds up," Brankamp adds. "You have to take everything into account, not just cost, it has to include quality, delivery, durability, reliability … everything has to be taken into account when you choose a coating system."
Along with a superior paint system, he has brought on a distributor he can count on. "Industrial Paint & Supply does a very, very good job for us," Brankamp reports. "Delivery is important. We generally want the paint on demand . . . just in time and, with our distributor, if I call in the morning and say I need some paint by lunch, it's usually here on time."
In a sense, the DuPont coating system is not just providing better protection for Finn Corp.'s products. It's also helping to preserve the company's reputation. As Brankamp puts it: "People say Finn Corp. has been around 65 years for a reason: because they put out a great product and they care about the customers.
"There are other people out there that make hydroseeders, straw blowers and bark blowers. Finn does not have a monopoly on this market. But we have the best product on the market by far, and we like to think we now have the best paint on it."
But once a piece of equipment leaves the showroom, it is literally driven into the ground.
"Our equipment does see rough use," says Gerry Brankamp, Finn Corp.'s materials manager. "People take it over rough terrain, possibly in a construction area that has been torn up. There's going to be a lot of rocks, a lot of mud . . . yeah, it takes a beating out there."
Many Finn units are sold to municipalities for maintenance of public grounds and to DOTs to maintain road areas. Landscaping contractors form another important market, especially those who specialize in hydroseeding.
Hydroseeding is a technology that Finn Corp. pioneered over 50 years ago. Finn hydroseeders are either pulled on a trailer or truck-mounted. Basically, they consist of a tank with a hydraulically driven agitator inside. The user fills the tank with water, grass seed, fertilizer, and a tackifier (a biodegradable wood-and-paper, mulch-type substance that serves to hold the grass seed in place until the seed can germinate.) This mixture is then sprayed under pressure into the soil.
"It's the best way to put down grass seed and germinate it," according to Brankamp. "Putting it all down at once . . . the grass seed with water and fertilizer and a tackifier . . . using our equipment is a lot better than putting it down by hand and also a lot more cost-effective than putting down sod."
Finn hydroseeders range in size from 300-gallon capacity to 3300-gallons. In addition to the rough terrain, these products have to bear up to the fertilizer and other harsh chemicals used in the hydroseed mixture.
Then there's the human element: certain customers just will not take care of their equipment as well as they should.
Given the conditions under which they operate, the Finn Corp.'s products can't be expected to keep their showroom luster for very long. But that hasn't stopped the company from seeking ways and means to prolong that "like new" appearance.
"We're always looking for ways to improve," says Brankamp, who is responsible for purchasing all materials used in production, including the coatings applied to Finn equipment. "It's definitely an ongoing thing. If I see something that may be better, I will pursue it."
About five years ago, after a few customer complaints, Finn Corp. began pursuing new paint possibilities. They started by contacting Industrial Paint & Supply Co., a distributor located across the Ohio River in Ft. Mitchell, KY.
Longer Lasting Appearance
"They wanted the appearance to hold up longer than they were getting from their current products," recalls Marty Berry, IP&S' general manager. "The paint they were using on their products was losing its gloss more quickly than they liked and was not highly resistant to chemicals."
Berry spent six or seven months working with Brankamp, learning the customer's needs and then testing different types of paints.
"We did a variety of application sprayouts using electrostatic equipment," adds Berry. "The feedback from testing for salt, moisture and chemical resistance was helpful, and the gloss/color retention data was very important. We had to make sure any paint system we recommended would work with their equipment."
In addition, Brankamp was concerned about ease of application and "reliability, which means I can put it on and it's going to look the same every time."
Evaluating the test results convinced Berry to recommend a two-part system from DuPont Industrial Coatings: DuPont 681, a phenolic alkyd primer, covered with IMRON® 333, a polyurethane well-known for its superior gloss and color retention. Brankamp agreed: "The tests proved this system would give us what we were looking for."
Every Finn product is topcoated with DuPont IMRON® 333 at their headquarters facility where they have two large paint booths and a smaller booth with a conveyor line for parts. Some equipment is blasted and primed by a subcontractor; the rest is power-washed with a phosphate cleaner and primed with DuPont 681FD. As soon as the primer dries, IMRON® 333 in the selected color is applied. All painting is done electrostatically. The company is able to finish four or five pieces of equipment per day.
While most of the equipment is produced in the official Finn Corp. beige color scheme, the company occasionally does receive requests for custom colors.
"When they want something different we try to get a paint chip or a paint code from the customer," notes Brankamp. "I'll take that to IP&S and they will paint some samples. We then express mail that to the customer to approve. With the DuPont system, we're almost always able to match the request."
Taken Into Account
Since switching to the 681/IMRON® 333 system, Finn customer complaints have fallen sharply. In terms of cost per gallon, the switch cost more, but was offset by upside factors. "The justification is in the way it looks and the way it holds up," Brankamp adds. "You have to take everything into account, not just cost, it has to include quality, delivery, durability, reliability … everything has to be taken into account when you choose a coating system."
Along with a superior paint system, he has brought on a distributor he can count on. "Industrial Paint & Supply does a very, very good job for us," Brankamp reports. "Delivery is important. We generally want the paint on demand . . . just in time and, with our distributor, if I call in the morning and say I need some paint by lunch, it's usually here on time."
In a sense, the DuPont coating system is not just providing better protection for Finn Corp.'s products. It's also helping to preserve the company's reputation. As Brankamp puts it: "People say Finn Corp. has been around 65 years for a reason: because they put out a great product and they care about the customers.
"There are other people out there that make hydroseeders, straw blowers and bark blowers. Finn does not have a monopoly on this market. But we have the best product on the market by far, and we like to think we now have the best paint on it."