“PermaStar not only looks like chrome but is more durable and anticorrosive than existing chrome plating,” says Gary Goodrich, president and CEO of Goodrich Technology. It’s also environmentally friendly, using no hazardous chemicals and creating no hazardous by-products, Goodrich says, adding that the process reduces costs and the high number of rejects associated with conventional chrome plating.

Doug Bach, vice president, advanced technologies for DuPont Powder Coatings (Houston), says, “We have high expectations for this technology. We’ve been investigating chrome-replacement coatings for several years and feel that the PermaStar process is not only the best that we have seen, it can also save companies millions of dollars over conventional chrome plating.”

“We’ve also been working closely with American Powder Coating and Goodrich over the last 18 months to develop powders that will work well with the PermaStar process, and we believe that the addition of this process to their operation should significantly increase their revenue stream,” Bach adds.

Scott Tellkamp, president of American Powder Coating, also likes the process. “We have seen a lot of migration in manufacturing to offshore facilities to utilize the lower labor costs,” he says. “This technology eliminates much of the labor associated with chrome plating and will put us back in the driver’s seat and on better-than-equal footing with our competition.”

Tellkamp says his company’s main focus in the beginning will be on aftermarket automobile and light-truck alloy wheels. “We presently have letters of intent that will approach our initial capacity,” he says. “We also intend to add an additional machine to do other auto and motorcycle-related parts in the near future.”