I recently had the opportunity to sit down with General Manager Lou McGough and Sales Manager Dominic Zerilli of Thierica Equipment Co. in Grand Rapids, MI. (thiequip.com)

Being well-diversified, Thierica serves a wide range of customers in the automotive, electronics, consumer goods, appliance, wood furniture and even the aerospace and medical product industries. Diversification is a critical factor for survival in the paint industry, and Thierica is well-positioned to ride the ups and downs, having been in business for over 74 years.

Thierica Equipment is a full-service turn-key provider of paint and coating process systems and should be on the radar of anyone in need of a turn-key paint process. Wanting to learn more about their operation, I asked what their key to success is, and why customers should choose Thierica. The response from Dominic Zerilli was quick.

“It’s simple! Our people, experience, and state of the art facilities are the three top reasons why Thierica Equipment should be your paint system supplier. In terms of how we interact with our team and our customers, we are very much a family operation. As a tight-knit group, we strive to treat our customers with the same care and level of dedication that we extend to our friends and family. Thierica employees become highly trained in all aspects of paint system function and operation. From engineering to final installation and run-off, Thierica personnel will make sure your system operates in a way that best suits your needs. With our in-house engineering combined with 24-hour support, the team is here to help when needed.”

The process at Thierica starts with a detailed proposal and ends with a system tailor-made  to the customer’s specific needs. Systems are commissioned and ‘run-off’ on the shop floor before shipping to a customer’s production facility. Thierica’s modular designs also mean that the equipment can easily be moved to a different location, across the factory, or around the world, as dictated by production demands.

Thierica’s 84,000 sq. ft Grand Rapids facility fabricates and thoroughly tests paint systems in a modular design-build system. Key elements such as engineering, fabrication, controls, panel build, and installations are executed by Thierica internally. The Thierica vertical integration design sets them apart as a manufacturer of custom systems and not just an integrator of someone else’s equipment. Thierica is a fab shop and a provider of turnkey solutions.

The Thierica coatings lab in Grand Rapids can be used to develop and validate customer processes before production, which provides a lot of added value for customers. Thierica also has a full-service facility in Monterrey, Mexico for fabrication, and service support for customer facilities in Latin America.

Interestingly, the US dollar bill provides the origin for the name Thierica (pronounced Thy-ree-ka). Back in 1945, the founders of the company, two brothers who had both served in WWII, were looking for a unique name. Being the products of an era when patriotism and national pride were foundational sentiments that ran deep with Americans, they wanted to use “The United States” as part of the company name. While folding a dollar bill, the brothers came up with the name Thierica from the heading across the top of the dollar that reads The United States of America.

While other full-service paint process providers have come and gone, Thierica has stood the test of time. They are forward-thinking and reactive to the ever-changing needs of the paint and finishing industry. Thierica is sized right, experienced, technologically well versed, and capable of delivering the ideal solutions for their customers.

If you need to design, build, or modify a paint or coating process, contact Thierica in Grand Rapids, MI. at 616-453-6570, or check them out at thiequip.com