Powder Cote begins $3.5 million expansion
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The Powder Cote II plant in Clinton’s I-75 Industrial Park will be expanding its warehousing and shipping facilities with a $3.5 million construction project. - G. Chambers Williams III
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Grading is already underway on the site of the planned 32,400 square-foot expansion of the Powder Cote II plant at 185 Frank L. Diggs Drive in Clinton. - G. Chambers Williams III
Clinton’s Powder Cote II plant, which coats components for new vehicles for auto manufacturers throughout much of the South and Midwest, has begun construction of a $3.5 million, 32,400-square-foot warehouse addition.
The Mt. Clemons, Michigan-based company, which took over the former Intex Enterprises facilities in the I-75 Industrial Park on Frank L. Diggs Drive in 2008, plans to have the addition up and running sometime in the first quarter of next year, according to General Manager Randy Adams.
Initially, the expansion could add about 10 percent more employees at the Powder Cote plant, which now has about 140 workers, Adams said. But the workforce could expand further if new equipment is added later for additional manufacturing capacity, he said.
Power Cote II obtained a building permit from the city of Clinton on July 15 for the expansion, which will be at the company’s location at 185 Frank L. Diggs Drive. The company occupies two buildings side by side; the other is at 193 Frank L. Diggs Drive.
“It’s additional warehousing space for new business coming in in the future,” Adams said of the construction project. “We supply coatings for automotive components.
“We coat anything from small brackets to metal bumpers, and it’s not just for automotive manufacturers; we also do coating for John Deere, Caterpillar, and Case New Holland agricultural products.”
Adams said the Clinton plant “paints anywhere from 180,000 to 300,000 parts a day,” while running two shifts a day, five days a week.
The parts are shipped by truck to assembly plants in Tennessee, including Volkswagen, Nissan and General Motors facilities, as well as to other plants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia and even Mexico, he said.
“We don’t have enough shipping docks now, so we are adding more,” Adams said.
The project is running a few months behind schedule, he added.
Power Cote II was founded in Mt. Clemons, where it has a facility of about 300,000 square feet, according to its website.
The privately owned company has “become a full-service powder and electrocoating finisher with complete in-house capabilities,” the website notes.
“Growth, product and personal development, innovation, and creative thinking form the essence of Powder Cote II today.
“Powder Cote II also provides finishing services to other segments of the marketplace including manufacturers of the appliance, equipment, and furniture industries,” the website says.
Cozy Excavation & Contracting LLC is listed as the contractor on the building permit for the Clinton expansion project.