Spokane Valley, WA www.acicoatings.com 509-891-4959

Home Away From Home

Reaching the ceiling was a major operation

This was a big one on a tight deadline, as the company was tapped to paint a $25 million-plus manufacturing facility that needed to be built and finished quickly. “We started this job in August 2019 and just finished it this week in December,” said Tyson Farris, director of operations. “With 45-foot ceilings, we had to operate a half dozen lifts on both new concrete and dirt, since the concrete was still being poured as we worked.” With an accelerated schedule, the trades had each other for companionship throughout the job. Also, the builders were on-site the entire time, often making changes and additions. “At times, the machinery would be installed and then the owner would notice something they wanted painted, so we would need to work around the machinery,” said Farris. “On top of that, this job was out of town for us.”

Their answer was to take the “all in a day’s work” approach and do what was needed, making sure there was enough crew to get the job done and often putting in 10-hour days to meet the demand. “We made sure to use the right boom equipment so the high ceilings and rough terrain were no issue,” he said, adding that they often worked nights so that other trades could have easier access during the day. “Our team painted so quickly, at times we actually had to pull off a week to allow the other trades to get far enough ahead of us so that we would have plenty of work to do!” Farris said. The job was as much about working cooperatively as it was about painting with skill. Plus, they were flexible – rather than moan and groan about paint life on the fly, they flew into the task, even sending additional crew to make it so.

A challenge for the company itself was the distance from home; but the client put the crew up in an apartment rather than a hotel and made sure they were paid well – including overtime. At the end of the project, crew members and their spouses were rewarded with dinner out on the town.

The project was at a new 155,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Richland, WA, 150 miles from ACI’s home base in Spokane Valley. “We coated all the steel, supports and decking as it was built. We painted all the CMU walls, offices, trim, doors and bathrooms. We touched up fire pipes, doors and corbels, and we did several striping projects on the floor throughout the facility; finally, we touched up and painted any special projects that either the builder or the owner asked us to.”

All without complaint – they should win TOP JOB for that alone!

ACI worked with several trades on this project.

Key Products

• Sherwin-Williams Multi Acrylic EggShell
• Sherwin-Williams Pro Industrial DTM CMU
• Sherwin-Williams Sher-Cryl
• Sherwin-Williams Sher-Kem
• SW ProCryl
• SW Pro Industrial HP Acrylic & Sher-Kem Safety Yellow