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Tank work leads to opportunities at new power plants for MPCA
If there is a single lesson to be learned by the growth and success of industrial painting contractor MPCA, Inc., it's that the more a contractor knows how to do, the better.
Ironically, that multi-capability strategy is exactly why the Santa Fe, Texas, contractor has worked almost solely in new-construction co-generation power plants for the past three and one-half years, as well as for the foreseeable future. The 17-year old firm that is primed to generate $15 million in business this year is dominating its niche market.
MPCA recently finished this new co-generation plant near Houston with several coating systems, including Kem Hi-Temp HeatFlex II 450 for the stacks shown at upper left. |
NINE NEW PLANTS
At present, MPCA's resources and 200-painter workforce are focused exclusively on nine new cogeneration power plants, mostly located in the southwestern United States. The company has completed 23 such facilities and has developed an excellent reputation among facility owners, in part because their experience in such projects simply dwarfs that of any competition. But surprisingly, MPCA's ability to apply tank linings is responsible for its success in power plants.
"We've gone from refineries to fertilizer plants to breweries, and for a while we were doing nothing but tanks," says company president Randy Huddleston, who partnered with vice-president David Franey to form Metallizing and Protective Coatings of America, Inc., more commonly known as MPCA, in 1985. "But it was our ability to do tanks that got us in on the ground floor on these projects because the first thing they'll need at a site is a water tank.
"We might not be doing these plants at all if it weren't for our ability to adapt to other industrial coatings projects."
AT A GLANCE
CONTRACTOR
MPCA, Inc. Santa Fe, Texas
SPECIALTY
Co-generation power plants
HIGHLIGHTS
Approximately 200 full-time painters; $15M in annual revenue
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DEREGULATION CHANGES
Law changes known locally as "deregulation" essentially privatized formerly public utilities in the late 1990s. As a result, co-generation plants, which use natural gas and steam-driven turbines to produce electricity, began sprouting quickly because of their efficiency and environment-friendliness. A relationship with a builder led to some tank work for MPCA on one of the first co-generation plants built in 1998, and that job led to a negotiated contract on finishing the entire plant.
"After that first co-gen plant, we basically had a better resume than anyone else, and we were able to sell ourselves with it," says Project Manager Hugh Finklea. "We were able to tell people at the next co-gen plant, 'Look at what we did on this one.'"
Experience proved especially valuable because of the unique challenges in painting these plants. Nearly all of the coatings must be brushed or rolled due to overspray concerns and the presence of other trades on new construction sites, and with the various piping, steel I-beams and uniquely shaped plant componentry present, there simply aren't a whole lot of easy-to-paint flat surfaces at a co-generation plant.
Furthermore, since plant ownership often has an interest in getting the plant on-line as quickly as possible, the plant will be "hot," or operational, well before painting is finished. As a result, certain elements of the plant must be finished first, according to Operations Manager Tim Johnson.
"The stacks, the diffuser - there are critical items that we can't paint while the plant is hot," says Johnson.
Critical items are also those that become hot - literally, up to 400 degrees F - once the plant is running. After power-tool abrasion of these surfaces to SP-11, MPCA painters typically apply two coats of Sherwin-Williams Kem Hi-Temp HeatFlex II 450 to critical-item surfaces, each at 1.5 to 2.0 mils. The coating is heat resistant and stood out after a number of panel tests at the MPCA shop, according to Franey.
"We heated the panels up and tested a number of high-temperature coating systems," says Franey. "Some faded, some wouldn't roll very well, but the Heat-Flex held its color and it rolled nicely. Once we saw for ourselves how this product could perform, Sherwin-Williams reps helped us change the specs for some of these jobs."
MPCA recently finished this new co-generation plant near Houston with several coating systems, including Kem Hi-Temp HeatFlex II 450 for the stacks shown at upper left. |
CHALLENGES REMAIN
The completion of painting on critical items is normally timed to coincide with the start- up of the plant. Once the plant is running, painters move on to finishing components of the plant that do not require a heat-resistant coating. For these surfaces, Johnson prefers a spot prime followed by a full prime coat of MacroPoxy 646 at 4-6 mils, followed by a finish coat of Acrolon 218 HS at 2-3 mils.
Even though most of the other trades are out of the way by the time MPCA painters get to these parts, challenges remain.
"The toughest part might be getting around the filter houses," says Johnson, referring to the large box-like features that rest alongside the generation stations. "Access is difficult because you have so much electricity moving around you.
"But for the most part, these plants have become a matter of routine. We know that 20 of our guys will need about 16 weeks to finish one of these. I hate to call it simple because it's not. But we've had a number of repetitions."
LIKES HIS WORK
Huddleston has developed a preference for new-construction plant work. For starters, the margins are better than they are in maintenance work.
"It's also faster-paced, more schedule intensive and there is generally a higher quality demand which we are able to satisfy," says Franey. "We've become very good at getting our projects done under budget and on-time. When you do that, business repeats itself."
MPCA recently finished this new co-generation plant near Houston with several coating systems, including Kem Hi-Temp HeatFlex II 450 for the stacks shown at upper left. |
MPCA has also become good at keeping its employees in the fold. The company boasts a near-zero turnover rate despite work that often sends painters away from home for four months at a time.
"We develop specialty-type people," says Franey. "We raise our own and we train them. It really takes about three years before you see the rewards and they become a good new construction painter, but we'll invest that time in them. In the meantime they're well-paid, they enjoy excellent benefits and we treat them fairly."
The strategy has paid off.
"We have foremen well into their 40's who have never worked anywhere else," says Franey, "In fact, nine out of our 12 foremen have never worked anywhere else."
So the future looks bright for MPCA. The co-generation plant market figures to remain booming for several years, and by the time that work dries up, a whole new market will be available - maintenance repaint work on the co-generation plants they first painted seven to 10 years earlier.
"We'll keep working on the new co-gen plants because it's a hot market," says Huddleston. "And we'll be ready when it's time to do these again. We'll know better than anyone how to go about it."
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