James Terry has been working in powder coating since he was 18 years old. During this time, he worked for various powder coating operations until he and his son, Daniel Frey, took their combined 50 years of experience and opened Mr. Speed Coatings in February 2014. The business gets its name from Terry, who runs his operation at lightning speed to deliver high-quality powder coating services, with the best turnaround time in the Nashville area.
Mr. Speed’s services range from coating highly custom, two-tone and three-tone wheels and rims to painting larger items such as railings and chassis. Since opening, the business has grown from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet. Despite their facility growth, Mr. Speed was no longer able to keep up with production, with coating requests coming in from all over the world.
The backlog of projects was a key indicator that it was time to order more equipment to continue to live up to the name Mr. Speed. Already working with a Col-Met powder booth, Terry knew he wanted something more capable of meeting his needs for high-production work. His distributor, Air Power, suggested Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) equipment, or as Terry likes to call it — the “Cadillac” system.
Mr. Speed’s new powder coating equipment consists of a GFS Powder Coating Booth and Batch Process Oven, which are larger than their existing Col-Met equipment. Since their GFS powder booth and oven are computerized, the company now has a lot more control over its coating operations. Terry explains that the computerized system is more intricate and works much better for controlling the temperature and settings.
“I have owned and operated large conveyorized powder coating systems since 1977, and the quality of the GFS equipment is better than any I have ever seen. I know good equipment when I see it.”
Standard on all GFS industrial ovens is a top- or rear-mounted heat chamber, which has an operational temperature of 300 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
“Before my GFS equipment, I have never seen an inspection door on a burner box on an oven. The only way to get to the burner box in other ovens is to go into the oven and crawl through the ductwork. With my GFS oven, I simply open the door and look! It’s amazing.”
Terry also spoke highly of GFS’ Technical Services department. After installing and wiring the equipment himself, he initially had an issue with the equipment not staying on after startup.
“After I talked with GFS’ Tech Services department, they knew exactly what the issue was. They helped me change a setting, and I haven’t had any issues with it since. I am extremely happy with this system — it is very well made.”
As for the future of Mr. Speed Coatings, you won’t see them slowing down any time soon.
“I like to do things the most efficient way possible, and GFS equipment has not let me down,” Terry said.
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