Welcome to Techlines... December 2002

PRI Show

December is the time for the Performance Racing Industry trade show. Again, as always it was a success. We met many of our old customers as well as a large number of our new customers, who we had only spoken to on the phone. The typical comment from each one, was, that they had an excellent year and looked forward to more growth in 2003.

Each year we have seen a continuing change in attitudes towards the use of coatings. At the show this year we no longer heard the skepticism but received positive comments instead. This increasing level of acceptance means that the market will continue to grow.

2002 and Tech Line Coatings, Inc.

While many businesses in other fields saw a slowing in sales during 2002, we have only seen growth. Our sales over this last fiscal year are on a definite upward trend. We expect to see gross income go up by about 30% with the volume shipped increasing closer to 45%, by the end of our fiscal year in February. We expect 2003 to show excellent growth as well.

One of the continuing areas of growth is in internal engine coatings. The skepticism is going away and the attitude has shifted tremendously to recognition of the need for coatings. Take advantage of this by promoting your services and the benefits that coatings for these parts bring.

To help with this we have prepared a variety of information sheets that give brief descriptions of the advantages of coating particular parts. Wehope to have these sheets posted on the web site for your use soon. By acquiring and distributing these information sheets, with your company name and address attached, you will be able to help your customers see the advantages. These info sheets were very well received at the PRI show. The typical comment was "Oh good, I have been looking for something like this, it will help me educate myself and my customers". We will be adding additional sheets as time permits.

The O.E.M. market is also showing positive signs of growth. Typically we have ignored this market, as it is very time consuming to pursue. However we have had a number of applicators tell us they are now doing O.E.M. applications using Tech Line Products. While many shops are not equipped to pursue these types of accounts, the use of our coatings in O.E.M. applications will make it easier for you to market a coating service to your customer base.

Interest from the Industrial market is growing significantly as well. As we make progress in identifying market opportunities we will post this information in the Newsletter. One of the primary advantages that we have found is in our focus on thin film, high temperature coating systems. Normal industrial coatings are not designed for the same environment as ours. When a need arises for greater performance than the standard coatings provide, more companies are looking to our products.

Micro Bright Beads.

We have received a few calls from customers who have seen degradation in the polishing effect of the beads. This is typically caused by a scum build up on the beads themselves. This happens after a period of time and is normal. The best way to avoid this problem is with a regular program of cleaning. We recommend that at least weekly you rinse out the tank with fresh water, as should be done daily, then add fresh water and a soap similar to ALL phosphate free laundry detergent. Run the machine for a while to clean the beads. Then rinse with fresh water. This generally cleans the beads and restores the normal polishing action.

Cold Wet Weather

Keep in mind that weather changes, particularly with the water based coatings, can affect how the coatings spray and lay down. If you are having any problems with the coatings beading up, try warming up the part or even the coating, before spraying.