The Finish Line

Tim Pennington, Editor-in-Chief

"The Finish Line" covers all things surface finishing, including electroplating, anodizing, powder and liquid coatings, electrocoat, PVD, pretreatment, wastewater treatment, and so much more. Hosted by Tim Pennington, Editor-in-Chief of www.FinishingAndCoating.com, the No. 1 Daily, Weekly, and Monthly magazine covering the surface finishing world.

  1. 20 FEB

    Shop Profile: Mark Morris, J&M Plating

    Mark Morris is President of J&M Plating in Rockford, Illinois, which is a large fastener coating and small stamping operation. It has 220,000 square feet of production space, offering one-stop finishing services, and is ISO 9001:2015 quality certified. Its heat-treating and plating laboratories are ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited for mechanical testing. J&M Plating has been one of the top zinc electroplaters since its founding in 1986, offering heat-treating, dip-spin coating, patching, and sorting as part of its plating processes. Read the article at https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/plating/2609-bolt-action-j-m-plating-grows-fastener-business-by-latching-on-to-core-values

    27 min

  2. 6 FEB

    Legends: John Cutchin, Palmetto Plating

    John Cutchin got his start in the finishing industry at 18, when he would bronze baby shoes in his hometown in Easley, South Carolina. Cutchin went on to start Palmetto Plating in 1964 to provide metal finishing services to the textile industries, and has enjoyed a successful career ever since. Read more about him at https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/plating/2612-legends-john-cutchin-palmetto-plating

    21 min

  3. 16 JAN

    Shop Profile: Adam Thomas, R.J. Thomas Manufacturing

    Adam Thomas, Vice President of the family-owned company R.J. Thomas Manufacturing. is a Cherokee, Iowa, manufacturer of Pilot Rock park equipment that was founded in 1959. The addition of an upgraded powder coating system has been on R.J. Thomas Manufacturing’s to-do list for some time, and especially since business has been growing for the last several years. The company has been designing and manufacturing the Pilot Rock brand of park, street, and campsite equipment since its inception. The outdoor park equipment includes campfire rings, grills, benches, picnic tables, and trash receptacles, which are used in parks, campgrounds, or someone’s backyard. Read more at https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/powder-coat/2585-r-j-thomas-mfgs-new-pilot-rock-powder-coating-system-makes-finishing-a-walk-in-the-woods

    13 min

  4. 2 JAN

    Shop Profile: Jo’Van Wiggins, EMI Quality Plating

    Jo’Van Wiggins is the Chief Operations Officer of EMI Quality Plating in Evansville, Indiana, a 50,000-square-foot business that is central to many manufacturing operations in the U.S. EMI specializes in silver, gold, and nickel plating; certified welding inspection; and additional specialty plating processes, including palladium, diamond coatings, low-, mid-, and high-phos nickel, as well as electroless nickel. “We have a lot of choices and options for potential partnerships with different companies,” Wiggins says. “And we are only using about 25,000 square feet,  so we're ready to expand and open up. We also have real estate around our facility, so we're able to build on and open up the capacity even more if need be.” Founded in 2005, the company was acquired in 2016, and President Jake Stocks took ownership and rebranded it with a more modern look and vision. The list of industries they serve is as extensive as the number of processes they offer: military defense, medical, automotive, RF/microwave, laser, cellular, consumer electronics, optics, HVAC/refrigeration, computer, aerospace, and telecommunications. Visit https://emiplating.com.

    26 min

  5. 19/12/2025

    Shop Profile: Doug Orantes, Aero Plating

    Since 2017, Doug Orantes and his wife, Loida, have been trying to get Aero Plating in Lancaster, California, off the ground. Still, a miscommunication with local city officials derailed those plans until he was finally able to realize his dream of opening the doors in 2023. “It’s been a long wait,” Orantes says. “But it has been very much worth it.” Today, Aero Plating operates in an 8,500-square-foot facility that is certified to 9001:2015/AS9100D and Nadcap standards for chem-film and passivation applications. https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/conversion/2551-worth-the-wait-aero-plating-comes-online-after-6-years-of-planning

    23 min

  6. 06/12/2025

    Shop Profile: Jim Leidig, Matrix Finishing

    Jim Leidig is the General Manager of Matrix Finishing in Harrington, Delaware. For the last year, Leidig has had the dream job of designing and building — and now running —a hi-tech powder coating operation that would be the envy of any finishing applicator in the land. When it came time to buy the equipment needed to run the 65,000-square-foot facility, it was Leidig’s bosses who insisted that he go high-end on the equipment and supplies he needed.

    26 min

  7. 21/11/2025

    Shop Profile: Ashley Hunsaker, HTS Coatings

    Ashley and Jason Hunsaker are owners of HTS Coatings in Madison, Illinois, which offers thermal spray coating for corrosion protection. HTS Coatings is expanding and growing not only as a coating shop but also as a machining and grinding facility. They market themselves as a full-service thermal spray, grinding, machining, and welding facility that specializes in preventing corrosion- and erosion-related wear and in repairing components damaged during operation. Their trademark thermal spray coating, BTHC-0005, is, they say, superior to hard-chrome deposits for corrosion protection. “We know that the chrome replacement is coming,” she says. “And we do believe thermal spray is a viable option.” Read the full article at https://finishingandcoating.com/index.php/liquid-coat/2477-hts-coatings-soar-with-high-velocity-thermal-spray-as-chrome-replacement. Visit https://htscoatings.com.

    27 min

  8. 07/11/2025

    Shop Profile: Guillermo Aguilera and Brenda Tapia, Metal Chem

    Guillermo Aguilera and Brenda Tapia are owners of Metal Chem in Chatsworth, California, a shop that offers chem film, passivation, anodizing, electroless nickel, zinc, and phosphate conversion on the plating side, as well as Mil-Specs, urethanes, epoxy, and polyester hybrids on the powder coating side, in addition to liquid coatings. Metal Chem also provides conformal coatings for printed circuit board assemblies, potting or encapsulation finishes in filling an electronic assembly, and dry film lubricants, too. Their Nadcap accreditation has enabled them to meet the metal application needs of top technology pioneers in the aerospace, military, and naval industries, resulting in further growth for the company. Visit https://www.metalcheminc.com.

    31 min
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About

"The Finish Line" covers all things surface finishing, including electroplating, anodizing, powder and liquid coatings, electrocoat, PVD, pretreatment, wastewater treatment, and so much more. Hosted by Tim Pennington, Editor-in-Chief of www.FinishingAndCoating.com, the No. 1 Daily, Weekly, and Monthly magazine covering the surface finishing world.

Information

  • Creator
    Tim Pennington, Editor-in-Chief
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Show Website
    The Finish Line