August 2024 sees Powdertech Surface Science proudly celebrating forty years as a highly successful business, delivering high quality finishes and processes with an emphasis on technical innovation. We look forward to further achievement in the coming years as we continue to advance the business in line with market needs, helping our customers to exceed the expectations of their own customers.
Accountability, trust and respect. Powdertech was founded on one man’s understanding of the over-riding importance of excellence in customer relationships. Martyn Green had a conviction that ‘things could be done better’. He recognized a significant gap in the market for a company combining consistently reliable high-performance coatings with an interest in and understanding of customers’ own industries and markets. That focus on mutually beneficial, close customer relationships has been consistent as our overriding philosophy.
Martyn established Powdertech in Bicester in 1984, as a small company operating two shifts of six people, concentrating on coating aluminium ‘Georgian bar’ – horizontal and vertical bars placed across windows and doors to give a Georgian appearance.
By 1988 the volume and variety of work led to Powdertech being expanded into two companies. Powdertech (Corby) Ltd was established in Corby with a purpose-built plant to deal with architectural work whilst in Bicester we were becoming well-known for specialised pre-treatment services on aluminium and zinc castings for the automotive sector, in addition to powder coating for aluminium and magnesium. We installed chrome-free pre-treatment in 2001 (the first UK powder coating plant to do so) and acquired work in the aerospace, medical and specialist engineering sectors in addition to automotive. Our re-branding as Powdertech Surface Science reflects our capability in many aspects of metal surface technology. We are continually researching and developing improved surface treatment systems. In 2018 we launched PowderBond®, an innovative system for bonding light-weight metal to composite without using a separate adhesive. In 2022 we built a separate facility within our plant to offer INTRICOAT, our coating service for intricate complex coatings, requiring CAD masking schemes.
Across forty years the Powdertech philosophy remains unchanged, but our factory and offices look very different. Investment in plant and in staff development continues apace with state-of-the-art coating equipment including a robotic system. This enables us to provide a powder coating service which excels in quality, consistency and adaptability to evolving needs. We can process small, fragile aluminium components, as well as accommodating sections up to 4 metres long, in volumes from one-off prototypes through to full scale production. Also staff either have, or are working towards, NVQ Level 2 in BIT Training.
Our greatest strength remains a willingness to thoroughly understand a customer’s own businesses and market and to work together to achieve a final product at the highest level.
We’d like to say a big thank you to our committed team, and the customers and suppliers we have partnered with over the years.
We’re looking ahead to the next 40 years of helping our customers keep their own business promises.
