Five Things to Consider Before You Hire a Coatings Contractor

You know you need to protect your assets with the proper coatings – But how do you choose the right industrial painting contractor to prepare the surface and apply the coating? Plenty of industrial coating contractors are willing to bid low to get a job, but you don’t want to make the mistake of saving a little now and losing a lot later. You want a contractor that will do the job right the first time.

 

At AXIOS, we have years of experience and the track record of getting the job done, correctly, on time and in budget. Review our recommendations of what to look for when evaluating industrial coatings contractors before you sign.

 

It doesn’t take much to put up a sign offering coating services to potential customers. But just because a company is offering the services you need doesn’t mean they actually have the resources and capacity to meet your specific requirements. If your operation is very large, you will need to look at tank lining contractors and pipeline coating contractors that are big enough – or have access to enough resources – to meet your needs.

The right company will be financially sound. They can afford enough employees and subcontractors, purchase the necessary supplies and tools and reach your operation in a timely manner. They also need to be insured appropriately to protect themselves and you from excess liability.

You want to verify that the contractor you pick is financially stable enough to do all of these things – and to stay in business long enough to complete the work you hire them to do.

When you have a lot riding on a project, you naturally want to work with an industrial coatings contractor that has the experience required to get the job done. The best way to verify that they can do what they claim they can do – and that they are good to work with – is by reading reviews or case studies of their work.

Considering how much money is at stake, you may want to read details about how the contractor performed during similar projects and whether they completed them on time, on budget and to their clients’ standards.

Safety is a major concern anytime you bring in a contractor to do work at your site. It is a concern not only for the contractor and their workers but for your own workers as well. A reputable contractor will have a solid safety record and will be able to maintain that record through careful, comprehensive safety and regulatory requirements. They will invest in safety because they know that it’s vital for both their own operation and the operations of their clients.

Beyond the potential damage to workers, safety violations also put you at risk of significant fines from OSHA. The last thing you need is to worry that the coatings contractor you hired is going to put you in the crosshairs of OSHA and bring the headaches that come with such attention.

Some coating projects require higher skill levels than others. For example, do you have a pipeline that is aging and needs rehabilitation? There are specialized coatings that can help to protect and rehabilitate underground pipelines and extend their lifetimes – but not every industrial coatings contractor is educated in such coatings nor do they all know how to apply them appropriately. And if they aren’t familiar with them, then they could wind up telling you that a rehab coating can do something that it can’t – like fix a pipeline that is too far gone to fix with just a coating.

The right industrial painting contractor may also be able to offer additional services beyond coatings so that you can get everything you need from one provider – like reinforced tank linings, architectural painting and concrete repair. If you have more than one type of job you need to be done, it can save time and money to get everything you need from one contractor with the right skill set.

A good salesperson can sell ice in the arctic. They can also convince asset owners that they are capable of more than they actually are. It’s great if you get a good feeling from talking with a contractor, but it’s not enough. You need evidence. That’s why you should always ask for references and contact them before you enter into an agreement.

You don’t want just any reference, either. You want to talk to someone who has worked with the contractor fairly recently and ask questions. It helps to hear that the contractor did a similar job well, on time and within budget.

At AXIOS Industrial, we offer a wide range of industrial coating solutions designed to meet and exceed your expectations.

With decades of experience, we have a proven track record in completing jobs according to your specifications, on time and on budget.

Tank coatings, pipeline coatings, high-temperature coatings and more – we are your one-stop shop for industrial painting and coating.

At AXIOS, we provide:

• Experience. Our employees have years, and often decades, of experience applying industrial coatings and tank liners, so they know exactly the pitfalls to avoid.
• Exceptional surface preparation. Preparing the surface properly and safely minimizes your coating costs and increases coating life.
• Proven processes. We use a combination of auto-abrasive equipment and open-nozzle abrasive blasting that maximizes productivity and safety.
• NACE-certified inspectors. We want to make certain that the work we do is of the highest quality for our clients. That’s why we employ NACE-certified inspectors to check all of our work before we consider a job finished.

Contact us now to learn more about partnering with AXIOS as your industrial coatings contractor.