By Sharon Spielman
In January 2011, McCain
Inc., headquartered in
Vista, Calif., invested
roughly $20 million to
expand its manufacturing
capabilities in the United
States, including the
addition of one of the most
high-tech powder coating
operations in Southern
California. The venture
has given the company a
green light to cruising
forward into new markets.
McCain was founded in 1987
as a traffic signal manufacturer by
Jeffrey L. McCain when he grew weary
of the delays in his electrical contracting
business on account of unreliable
and inconsistent product delivery from
suppliers, according to Trisha Reddan,
marketing manager at McCain. “What
began as a modest signal shop, quickly
expanded to include many of the components
essential to making intersections
work, including traffic cabinets,
traffic controllers, signs, and control
software,” she says.
In 2006, McCain made a strategic
decision to allow other companies to
leverage its decades of manufacturing
expertise and formed its contract
manufacturing division. Met with
near instantaneous success, McCain’s
contract manufacturing division has
grown steadily and found a niche in
providing quality and cost-effective
solutions to companies with medium
to high volume manufacturing needs.
With the addition of its newest plant in
January 2011, the company now operates
in excess of 300,000 square feet
and employs more than 500 people in
North America.
“The manufacturing division is
McCain’s fastest growing business
segment, representing 20 percent of
our business today,” Reddan continued.
“With U.S. manufacturing making a
comeback, we see great opportunities
for continued growth and expect the
manufacturing division to ultimately
represent 40 to 50 percent of
total revenue.”
A large part of McCain’s success is
based on using state-of-the-art equipment
that helps control costs, while
providing products of a consistently
high quality in short lead times.
McCain Manufacturing has been
involved in the manufacture or powder
coating of parts and products from a
diverse range of industries including
automotive, defense, gaming, alternative
energy, information technology,
safety, and entertainment. Reddan
offered that some of her favorite
projects include bus-sized (over 40')
cloud-computing containers, production
lighting, parts for Coast Guard
Humvees, slot machines, carwash
attendants, train harnesses, and an
innovative and vivid green cell-phone
recycling unit.
Auto, Batch, Go!
McCain Manufacturing is the name
given to the outsource manufacturing
division of McCain Inc. In 2012,
the company expanded its North
American powder coating operations
dramatically. Housed at McCain’s
100,000 sq-ft, LEED-certified manu-
facturing facility—just down the road
from the company’s headquarters—the
two cutting-edge installations include
an automated conveyor and large-scale
batch powder coating system.
The automated, overhead I-beam
conveyor system brings together the
latest technological advancements in
the industry, including a seven-stage
pretreatment wash, electrostatic
application, and curing process. The
high-throughput system also features
dual coating capabilities that save time
and money by applying multiple coats
in half the time. Components too large
for the automated system are treated in
the batch system, where experienced
personnel apply each coat by hand
using power pulse technology.
Specifically, the automatic powder
line includes a Gema Magic Cylinder
quick color change booth (12,000 cfm)
with an OptiCenter Powder Management
System, 12 OptiFlex automatic
guns, three OptiFlex2 Manual Wall
Units, Roll-on Roll-off platform and
IR package. The batch system that
was installed includes a Gema SMART
Production Booth (18,000 cfm),
conveyorized line, OptiColor-8 color
(two units, one for each painter), two
OptiFlex2 Wall Units, seven hoppers
and one vibratory box feed base, and
two recovery units (9,000 cfm)—both
spray to waste. The system is capable
of running hundreds of colors, textures
and finishes. “Generally speaking, we
use between 25 and 40 colors in a
12-month time span,” Christine Jersey,
COO at McCain, says.
“Our automated overhead conveyor
system, which is just one of our three
powder coating systems, is comprised
of components from Tellkamp Systems
and Gema,” she explains. Parts
begin by being completely cleaned and
dried to remove oils, grime, grease and
dirt using McCain’s proprietary seven-
stage pretreatment system (which
uses a combination of washes, such
as alkaline and zirconium, deionized
water washes, and a sealer). Parts then
move through a series of additional
components which may or may not be
used based on the desired outcome,
according to Jersey. Those additional
components include an automated
Gema booth, Tellkamp IR oven, a
second manual booth, and finally a
curing oven. “Having two paint booths
on the line allows us to apply a primer
and final coat, coat and clear coat, etc.,
without having to run parts through
the system two times. For parts that
may have tricky components, they can
be painted in the automated booth and
touched up in the manual booth, to
ensure an even application across all
surfaces,” Jersey says.
McCain’s commercial-grade powder
coating is available in many colors
and textures for parts of all shapes and
sizes, including aerospace and defense
products, automotive materials,
medical equipment, metal enclosures,
solar systems, telecommunications,
and more. Progressive techniques and
superior finishes ensure a resilient,
long-lasting finish that extends product
life expectancy by shielding the surface
from conditions such as chemicals,
scratching, weather, harsh use and
impact. With rigorous quality and test
procedures, McCain’s state-of-the-art
systems meet or exceed the standard
requirements of nearly all end-use markets.
The company just exceeded 6,000
hours in their AAMA certification
process. They are automotive standards
compliant, military standards friendly,
and they utilize Six Sigma statistical
quality control.
“McCain has always been a pioneer
in developing technology,” Joe Hoferer,
manufacturing sales representative at
McCain says. “Our powder coating
systems continue the trend by using
advanced equipment and machinery to
deliver exceptional speed and capacity
uncommon to the region. Combining
technology with skilled artisans
and technicians, we offer consistent,
high-quality powder coating to our
customers.”
The expanded powder coating
operations are the latest value-added
services being offered at McCain’s fullscale
manufacturing facilities. In addition
to powder coating, McCain’s North
American manufacturing division
offers sheet metal fabrication, CNC
machining, die casting, plastic injection
molding, thermal forming, and turnkey
assembly, complete with engineering
and design services.
Karen Walters, marketing coordinator
at Gema, says, “I have been
to countless powder coating facilities
and McCain is one of the nicest and
cleanest facilities I have seen—very
impressive state-of-the-art technology
throughout the entire operation.”
Sharon Spielman is editor of Powder
Coated Tough magazine. She can be
reached at 847-302-2648 or via email at
sspielman@powdercoating.org.
