A few years ago, Carl Schultz was frustrated that nobody could provide a high-quality polycarbonate coating for the windows that his company, Twin Lakes-based Five Star Fabricating Inc., makes for race cars. Five Star Fabricating makes race car bodies and polycarbonate sheets are used to protect the race car windows.
Five Star Coatings Group
36728 89th St., Twin Lakes
Founded: 2008
Annual revenue: Not disclosed
Number of employees: 15
Industry: Coatings solutions provider
“Polycarbonate is a very, very durable material,” Schultz said. “You can beat on it all day with a hammer and you’re not going to break it.”
However, the polycarbonate sheets are susceptible to getting scratched and turn yellow from exposure to sunlight. That’s why they need to be coated. Schultz could not find a high-quality coating provider, so he found a way to do it himself and started Five Star Coatings Group in 2008 to provide mar-resistant and weather-able coatings for polycarbonate and acrylic sheets.
“We either had to do it ourselves or accept a lower quality product,” Schultz said. “There’s nobody doing coatings at the quality level that we provide”
The 15-employee company serves a niche market including race cars and passenger rail cars. One of the company’s biggest customers is Harley-Davidson, which uses the company’s coated sheets for its windshields.
The company expects to triple its sales this year and is considering plans to purchase two additional coating machines, Schultz said.
