When customers are surprised to learn that our services include so many metal finishing options, we often ask them a simple, honest question.
“How many precision sheet metal fabricators do you know that offer all of these services?”
We genuinely want to know—after all, we always want to learn more about our competition! But in our experience, the answer is almost always the same: None that we are aware of.
GTR Manufacturing offers a variety of in-house finishing capabilities: wet paint, powder coating, silk screening, chem film, phosphating, and more. Even offering one or two of these finishing capabilities is enough to set a custom metal fabricator apart. But offering all of them at the level our customers have come to expect is virtually unheard of.
Why does this level of integration matter for your next project? And why don’t more shops offer all of these services?
How Our Visionary Founders Built for Integration From the Start
At the time, we were only a small shop, far from the 104,000 square feet of manufacturing space we operate today. But the goal was always to be a single-source solution, and that guided our strategy from the start. Chem film was our first in-house sheet metal finishing option starting on day one, and by 1977 we had added a dedicated paint shop. We have continued to expand from there.
It simply wouldn’t be possible to start this evolution from scratch today and expect rapid results. Our processes are so fine-tuned and our institutional knowledge is so deep that it would take decades for a new business to reach these levels. And our high standards go beyond efficiency—we are RoHS-compliant, and always conscious of our carbon footprint.
Why In-House Finishing Matters
Our full-service capabilities allow us to optimize your sheet metal manufacturing from start to finish. That gives your project clear and immediate advantages:
Cost Control: We’re not relying on subcontractors, so that means no unexpected markups. In addition, if your budget is a concern, we have more flexibility to adjust different factors—we’re in control of more aspects of your projects, so we can help you find more ways to save.
Lead Time Reliability: Our team controls the timeline from start to finish, and we stick to it. There’s no waiting for a vendor to fit your job into their queue.
Consistent Quality: Our sheet metal team works side-by-side with our finishing department. If there’s an issue, it’s resolved immediately—without any back-and-forth between multiple vendors.
Proactive Design Support: Some shops offer DFM, but their guidance stops short of finishing because they have no in-house expertise. We optimize for finishing as well, which means no surprises at final inspection.
The Real-World Difference With a Single-Source Solution
Nearly every project sees all of these benefits, in ways both big and small.
From day one, we look at your project holistically. As soon as projects arrive in our shop, we help with budget optimization, suggest efficient finishing strategies, and lock in realistic lead times, without the delay that often comes from communicating with multiple vendors.
Every single handoff is simplified with GTR. No unexpected shipping delays, no miscommunications, no scrambling when a problem is discovered at the last minute.
Take finishing prep, for example. At many finishing shops, if a sheet metal part isn’t ready for coating when it arrives, it gets flagged—then sent back—creating costly delays. At GTR, that issue gets resolved right away, because the paint booth is 20 feet away, not 20 miles.
Try a True Single-Source Solution for Sheet Metal Fabrication
If your next project involves complex finishing requirements, multiple coatings, or detailed aesthetics, don’t leave anything up to chance. Our system minimizes risk by keeping your project in-house from start to finish.
Request a quote today and experience the difference when you work with a true single-source metal fabrication company.