The powder coating system at Testrite Visual in Hackensack, New Jersey, may be brand-new, but the idea for it dates back nearly 30 years.
Larry, left, and Jeffrey Rubin, owners of Testrite Visual in Hackensack, New Jersey.“My father has proposals going back to the 1990s,” says Jeffrey Rubin, President of Testrite, a manufacturer of visual display products. “You can go through his file of proposals to track the progression of the cost of putting in a powder coat line over the years.”
After decades of wishful thinking about bringing powder coating in-house, in 2025, Jeffrey and his father, Larry, the CEO of Testrite, are finally up and running with their own powder coating line, following years of outsourcing the work to an external shop.
Visual Merchandising and Presentation
Testrite integrates graphics into visual merchandising, communication, and presentation environments, utilizing those graphics to capture attention and convey messages tastefully and effectively.
Testrite is finally up and running with their own powder coating line, following years of outsourcing the work to an external shop.Their customers include some of the world's top retailers and brands. They collaborate with these companies’ visual merchandise and store planning departments, as well as associated digital printers, marketing, logistics, and installation companies, to deliver messages to stores that customers will see and, hopefully, respond to.
Larry Rubin is the grandson of Herman Neuwirth, the founder of Testrite, who established the company in 1919. Jeff is the great-grandson; both have demonstrated business acumen in the visual merchandising industry, contributing to their company's status as one of the top players in the retail market.
However, after years of sending their manufactured products out to be anodized or powder-coated, depending on the customer’s needs, the Rubins decided to control the powder coating aspect by bringing the work in-house.
Powder Coating Truckloads of Parts Each Day
Testrite has the ability to match specific brand colors has also been an important enhancement for Testrite, enabling it to utilize its coating line effectively“We had a third-party company who was picking up a truckload every day and delivering the next day,” Jeffrey says. “We had very good service from a powder coater who was local to us, and they were a great vendor. They were at the top of our list every year for companies to whom we gave the most business and with whom we were also the happiest. But at the end of the day, it still made sense to go ahead and do it ourselves.”
It took several decades for Testrite to decide to purchase a system, and Jeffrey says it all came down to having sufficient space to install a powder coating line that would meet their needs.
“For us in the Northeast, real estate is a key factor,” he says. “Part of it was having enough space to be able to build out our powder coating line. We knew that the company that was doing the work for us had a conveyor belt line, which is sizable and takes quite a bit of footprint, so we wanted to make sure we had the right space.”
More importantly for Testrite, they not only wanted to add powder coating, but it was what Jeffrey described as getting the right “sequencing” with their manufacturing operations. Their core business is manufacturing, and they have added large-format digital printing, including dye sublimation fabric printing. Jeffrey said they also brought this piece of the business in-house and needed to ensure it was fully up and running before starting to bring powder coating in house.
“Whether it's matching a PMS485 color — which is close to a RAL3020 — or a customer who wants a purple that matches their brand color, powder coating is a great solution for that.”
“We wanted to make sure that we had understood and got our arms around that and got it into a good spot before we added powder coating,” he says. “They are both extensions to what we do. A display without printed graphics or finishing doesn't do much for you. You have to powder-coat it. And we know that a lot of companies want a one-stop shopping solution.”
Testrite integrates graphics into visual merchandising, communication, and presentation environments, utilizing those graphics to capture attention and convey messages tastefully and effectively.
Finding the Space for Powder Coating
Testrite has manufactured products in the U.S. and for over 100 years.Testrite has three facilities on the same street in Hackensack and found the space in one of those buildings to add the powder coating system. They have a full conveyor line that can coat parts up to 12 feet in length, and they can coat four-foot-by-eight-foot sheets of metal when needed.
When installing visual displays in retail stores, there can be savings from having fewer, longer sections. Installation labor is expensive. “As you're building out a full retail store, eight footers versus 12 footers means you have less labor to put up a full store perimeter with 12 footers,” Jeffrey says. “so it’s great that we can do 12 footers in-house.” This is especially true in super market retail décor, Testrite Visual’s specialty. Anything beyond 12 ft long is difficult to ship to retail locations.
Additionally, having the ability to match specific brand colors has also been an important enhancement for Testrite, enabling it to utilize its coating line effectively.
“Each brand wants their store to look a little bit different,” Jeffrey says. “Whether it's matching a PMS485 color — which is close to a RAL3020 — or a customer who wants a purple that matches their brand color, powder coating is a great solution for that.”
Outside Experts Help Expedite Installation
Testrite has a full conveyor line that can coat parts up to 12 feet in length, and they can coat four-foot-by-eight-foot sheets of metal when needed.Testrite hired Slocum Equipment, a provider of powder coating systems and industrial finishing equipment, to handle the design and installation of the system. The two companies are familiar with each other, as they have been discussing a new coating system for quite some time.
“I have been talking to Larry for over 10 years now,” says John Bradshaw, President of Slocum Equipment. “ I think it was a combination of a few things that finally got it going. I think they were tired of waiting, and maybe they were having some issues with getting their people and getting into another building where the system is, but Larry wanted to do this forever ago.”
Bradshaw says that before designing the system, they had to learn from Testrite what its production flow looked like and what they wanted to accomplish by bringing the system in-house. Once those details were obtained and studied, it didn’t take long for the Slocum Equipment team to have a plan in place.
”From there, we reverse engineer it and go backward,” Bradshaw says. “It is going to be a four by six system, three stages, 12-foot long part at six feet a minute, and this is how much space we need. That's how we designed it.”
Bradshaw, who has been in the finishing industry for over 30 years, says the Rubins allowed him and his team a great deal of flexibility to design the system based on their expertise and to plan for its long-term utilization.
Free Reins to Design the Most Efficient System
John Bradshaw
“Having them give us the reins to do it makes it a little bit easier,” Bradshaw says, adding that most of the suppliers he deals with — such as GAT Finishing Systems, RTT Engineered Solutions, Rohner Finishing Systems, Deimco Finishing Systems, and Gema — have an extensive background in building finishing equipment.
“GAT has been around for almost 70 years, and with our 30-something years of experience that I have, we know that what we came up with is going benefit them and give them what they need today,” Bradshaw says. “And with that, we add in a 20% growth factor to help carry them into the future.”
The system installed by Slocum Equipment for Testrite occupies approximately 4,000 square feet of space. GAT made the washer and oven, and Rapid Industries manufactured the conveyor. RTT made the spray booth, and Gema provided the box feeder handguns.
Bradshaw also helped Testrite find chemical and powder suppliers, but he stayed neutral in those discussions.
“We put them in contact with a couple of powder companies and a couple of chemistry companies, which is part of our duty,” he says. “But I let them choose; I don't specifically say, ‘This is who you have to use, or this is who you should use.’ I might say, ‘I know that these guys and they have been good with some of my other customers. If you want to call them, here's their number.’”
“One of the nicest things about doing it ourselves in-house is there are so many powder coat companies available who are ready and eager to give you service. I can go buy powder for one particular finish, and if that doesn't work from that company, I can buy from another.”
Jeffrey says it was extremely helpful to have Bradshaw and Slocum Equipment’s help along the way.
“He shepherded us through the process,” he says. “He gave us everything from soup to nuts on the conveyor belt line itself, the powder coat booth, the guns. We were not trying to pull the parts and pieces together ourselves. John helped give us that cohesive one-stop approach, and we knew what we were getting into at the beginning.”
Powder Coating Offers Distinct Advantage Over Competitors
Rubin says Testrite now offers contract powder coating services to other manufacturers.Jeffrey says that having an in-house powder coating system has given Testrite a distinct advantage over its competitors, as he now controls that aspect of production.
“Buyers have gotten a little bit more sophisticated, and they know what they want, and again, every store wants to be different,” he says. “And what's nice about powder coating is I can set up and powder coat five pieces or 5,000 pieces in a particular designer finish. The ability to do custom colors is great.”
For example, Testrite had one customer who had a single store that requested a unique color, specifically a light pink. They created a lightbox for them and finished the aluminum extrusion in a gloss and applied a ripple texture in the same color to the bases to better resist footprints and fingerprints.
“We could do one for them, and it's economically viable to do one,” he says. “One of the nicest things about doing it ourselves in-house is there are so many powder coat companies available who are ready and eager to give you service. I can go buy powder for one particular finish, and if that doesn't work from that company, I can buy from another.”
Testrite has eight staff members working on the powder coat line and plans to take on work from outside manufacturers, which would enable them to add a second shift and more employees.
They brought in a few employees with prior powder coat experience and also hired some who had no prior experience. A few existing Testrite employees also switched to the powder coating department.
“We have some folks who have some experience in the powder coat world, and adding our people — and giving opportunities to people who are already here — is a good mix,” Jeffrey says. “We want to give opportunities to people who are already in-house, as well as hire some folks with experience and train others. It's a mixture of all three.”
Testrite offers contract powder coating services on it’s new website, www.TestritePowderCoating.com. Testrite’s Powder Coating is also included as part of the products sold on www.Testrite.com, www.TestriteOEM.com and www.TestriteAluminum.com.
Visit https://www.testrite.com and https://slocumequipment.com.