David Savastano, Contributing Editor04.20.23
Surface coatings are critical to protecting a wide range of items that face corrosion and wear, from structures in the oil and gas industry to feedscrews, mixing rotors and other parts. With the right coatings, these parts and structures will remain at their best.
Over the last 30 years, Extreme Coatings has become a leader in this field by developing its innovative advanced thermal spray technology and coating formulations. Extreme Coatings is helping its customers provide parts that are more resistant to corrosion and wear, which is proving to be a successful approach.
Curt Kadau, president of Extreme Coatings, comes from a coatings background, having worked for six years with Hard Metal Alloys, his father’s company. In 1996, Kadau started the parent company, Surface Engineering, to provide wear-resistant products and solutions for various industries.
“The concept was to take any consumable material designed for wear and corrosion applications and make them available technically to the consumers,” Kadau said. “A keen understanding of material science and tribology sets Surface Engineering apart as a leader in providing these products.”
A few years into the business of Surface Engineering, Extreme Coatings was started as a thermal spray service utilizing primarily the High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) process to specialize in high-performance solutions for wear and corrosion problems in various industries across the world.
“Our mission is to take various alloys, carbides, and ceramic materials and combine them in a more focused way to provide high value-added coatings to any component that is not performing as desired,” Kadau said. “We don't focus on the cost of the material or the process, rather the savings or production efficiency improvements obtained from using the absolute best material available to solve the exact mode of wear. Today, Extreme Coatings is expanding its services into other processes for weld overlay, including laser cladding.”
There are plenty of industries that can use corrosion protection, and Extreme Coatings is active wherever there is a need to control corrosion.
“Plastics and rubber and oil and gas represent the key markets for Extreme Coatings,” said Kadau. “However, we have been expanding into mining, aerospace, and the U.S. Department of Defense. We really do not limit the markets we serve since corrosion exists in literally every industry.”
Extreem Coatings isn’t the only coatings company developing anti-corrosion materials. Kadau said that its knowledge of material science is key to its products.
“Extreme Coatings does not just take materials available in the market and apply them to components as a ‘Me Too’ supplier,” Kadau noted. “Of course, we can do that, but due to our strong understanding of materials and tribology, our preference is to serve our customers by providing them with the Holy Grail of performance for their applications. We really do not think about the cost of the products or service, rather focusing on the savings and value-add resulting from the improvement in the coating technology. We are also capable of producing our own powders designed typically to meet these stringent applications.”
Extreme Coatings is growing quickly, and its focus on wear and corrosion is a significant factor in that growth.
“With the cost of labor, machinery, and overhead, companies need to maximize uptime for equipment and reduce downtime by mitigating wear,” Kadau observed. “There are very few companies focusing on this market need in the same manner as Extreme Coatings.”
Extreme Coatings is not content to rest on its laurels, constantly looking at ways to improve its products. Kadau pointed to new coatings that cover smaller diameters.
“Up until recently, the ability to apply superior wear-resistant coatings to the inside diameter of a part as small as 3 inches, 75 millimeters, was virtually impossible,” Kadau said. “We have developed the equipment to apply tungsten carbide to a thickness of about 10 mils to these small diameters now. This is absolutely revolutionary and the growth potential is immeasurable.”
That growth can be seen in Extreme Coatings’ recent announcement of its new presence in Europe. The company formed a new European subsdiary, Extreme Coatings GmbH, as well as a strategic partnership with FS Maschinenbau, an Austrian engineering services company, to operate the facility. The 15,000 square foot plant in Gmunden, Austria, opened in October 2022.
“Demand has been climbing and the customer/prospect base has issues with shipping large components and the extended delivery times of shipping via boat and the cost to do so,” Kadau noted. “As a service company, it is necessary to be more locally positioned to serve the industries that demand our products.”
With locations now in Korea, India, Europe, Chili, and two plants in the U.S., Extreme Coatings will be able to better serve its mission to provide these high-performance, value-added services and products to customers all over the world.
“The opportunities are limitless because of our approach to provide a superior return for our customers and a high level of surface engineering expertise to solve primary component wear problems while saving time and money,” Kadau concluded.
Over the last 30 years, Extreme Coatings has become a leader in this field by developing its innovative advanced thermal spray technology and coating formulations. Extreme Coatings is helping its customers provide parts that are more resistant to corrosion and wear, which is proving to be a successful approach.
Curt Kadau, president of Extreme Coatings, comes from a coatings background, having worked for six years with Hard Metal Alloys, his father’s company. In 1996, Kadau started the parent company, Surface Engineering, to provide wear-resistant products and solutions for various industries.
“The concept was to take any consumable material designed for wear and corrosion applications and make them available technically to the consumers,” Kadau said. “A keen understanding of material science and tribology sets Surface Engineering apart as a leader in providing these products.”
A few years into the business of Surface Engineering, Extreme Coatings was started as a thermal spray service utilizing primarily the High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) process to specialize in high-performance solutions for wear and corrosion problems in various industries across the world.
“Our mission is to take various alloys, carbides, and ceramic materials and combine them in a more focused way to provide high value-added coatings to any component that is not performing as desired,” Kadau said. “We don't focus on the cost of the material or the process, rather the savings or production efficiency improvements obtained from using the absolute best material available to solve the exact mode of wear. Today, Extreme Coatings is expanding its services into other processes for weld overlay, including laser cladding.”
There are plenty of industries that can use corrosion protection, and Extreme Coatings is active wherever there is a need to control corrosion.
“Plastics and rubber and oil and gas represent the key markets for Extreme Coatings,” said Kadau. “However, we have been expanding into mining, aerospace, and the U.S. Department of Defense. We really do not limit the markets we serve since corrosion exists in literally every industry.”
Extreem Coatings isn’t the only coatings company developing anti-corrosion materials. Kadau said that its knowledge of material science is key to its products.
“Extreme Coatings does not just take materials available in the market and apply them to components as a ‘Me Too’ supplier,” Kadau noted. “Of course, we can do that, but due to our strong understanding of materials and tribology, our preference is to serve our customers by providing them with the Holy Grail of performance for their applications. We really do not think about the cost of the products or service, rather focusing on the savings and value-add resulting from the improvement in the coating technology. We are also capable of producing our own powders designed typically to meet these stringent applications.”
Extreme Coatings is growing quickly, and its focus on wear and corrosion is a significant factor in that growth.
“With the cost of labor, machinery, and overhead, companies need to maximize uptime for equipment and reduce downtime by mitigating wear,” Kadau observed. “There are very few companies focusing on this market need in the same manner as Extreme Coatings.”
Extreme Coatings is not content to rest on its laurels, constantly looking at ways to improve its products. Kadau pointed to new coatings that cover smaller diameters.
“Up until recently, the ability to apply superior wear-resistant coatings to the inside diameter of a part as small as 3 inches, 75 millimeters, was virtually impossible,” Kadau said. “We have developed the equipment to apply tungsten carbide to a thickness of about 10 mils to these small diameters now. This is absolutely revolutionary and the growth potential is immeasurable.”
That growth can be seen in Extreme Coatings’ recent announcement of its new presence in Europe. The company formed a new European subsdiary, Extreme Coatings GmbH, as well as a strategic partnership with FS Maschinenbau, an Austrian engineering services company, to operate the facility. The 15,000 square foot plant in Gmunden, Austria, opened in October 2022.
“Demand has been climbing and the customer/prospect base has issues with shipping large components and the extended delivery times of shipping via boat and the cost to do so,” Kadau noted. “As a service company, it is necessary to be more locally positioned to serve the industries that demand our products.”
With locations now in Korea, India, Europe, Chili, and two plants in the U.S., Extreme Coatings will be able to better serve its mission to provide these high-performance, value-added services and products to customers all over the world.
“The opportunities are limitless because of our approach to provide a superior return for our customers and a high level of surface engineering expertise to solve primary component wear problems while saving time and money,” Kadau concluded.
