Fortress Fusion Coatings Inc Process

New oven expands Fortress Fusion capacity

We just went operational on a new oven that will greatly improve our efficiency and productivity, allowing us to reduce turnaround times and lead to quicker deliveries of our products.

The second oven arrived on Dec. 10, and we turned it on just in time for the new year. Both ovens are nearly 45 feet long and 9 feet high, so we can fit any piece that would fit on a tractor trailer.

The powder coating process - if done right - requires two stints in an oven. One to bring the metal up to temperature so the powder adheres correctly, and one to actually bake the powder onto the metal.

Previously, we had to put pieces in the oven to warm them up, move them to the spray chamber to coat them, then return them to the oven to bake the powder on. Because the processes are for different durations and different temperatures, we could start a new batch unless the old batch was finished.

Now we can. We're not sure how much faster will be able to produce projects, but it's going to be a big improvement.

And a safer one, too. One of the advantages of a second oven is that product will always move in one direction through our shop, so our employees never need to worry about getting blind-sided by a piece of metal coming from a direction they didn't expect.

Greek Peak ski resort opens year-round water park

Cascades Indoor Water Park opened in December in Cortland County, N.Y., bringing something new to Central New York – year-round water fun, without the ice. At a ski resort.

And we’re pleased not only with the quality of our work, but with what our work made possible.

Fortress Fusion provided most of the exterior for the all-steel building, and some of the interior metal pieces. It looks good, sure, and it will last for generations, but we suspect the facility was able to open in December specifically because of the choice to go with powder coat instead of paint.

Upstate New York has a short construction season – maybe four months. And the 2009 season was shortened incredibly because of a record number of rainy days.

You can’t paint an exterior building on a rainy day. And even after the rain stops, you have to wait for the surfaces to dry.

But with powder coating, we prepared each piece in our own indoor facility. We can do that rain or shine, day or night.

And once they were ready, we shipped them to Cortland County, where they could be assembled immediately in any condition short of a lightning storm.
They didn’t have to wait for us, that’s for sure.