If You Build It, They Will Come – Kazam Powder Coating, Inc.

McAllen Economic Development Corporation 
Blog Post December 7, 2011

As the saying goes, “Good help is hard to find.” Such was the case for KARLEE, a certified woman-owned Contract Manufacturer providing customized integrated manufacturing services such as sheet metal fabrication, precision 5-axis machining, cabling, and electromechanical assembly. KARLEE found itself in need of a consistent and reliable powder coater for much of their metal processing. After searching within a 250 mile radius of their Sharyland Business Park location in Mission, Texas, they were unsuccessful in finding such a company.

After realizing that a reliable powder coater could not be found to fulfil their processing needs, they were forced to provide such service themselves. They also realized that a need existed to provide same service to other manufacturers in the area. Kazam Powder Coating, Inc. was then created to provide this service.

In 2011, Kazam leased 25,000 square feet of industrial space in the same building as their sister company, KARLEE, in Sharyland Business Park. As their state-of-the-art equipment began to arrive, they began looking for potential clients. Kazam’s Chief Operational Officer, Rick Cherry pointed out, although Karlee’s powder coating needs are being addressed, Kazam continues to have extensive open capacity and is pursuing potential customers on both sides of the border.

The ultimate goal is to sell manufacturers on the advantages of powder coating versus traditional ‘wet’ spray paint. Kazam’s process not only provides a finished product with a tougher paint coat, but the life of the coat is much more durable, colorful, economical, and scratch and oxidation resistant. However, one of the most important qualities in this process is that it is much more environmentally friendly than wet spray paint. Powder coating contains no solvents, creating little to no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions and reducing air pollution. In addition, powder is not considered a hazardous waste, thus elimitaning toxic waste water that could potentially contaminate the environment.

With operations such as Kazam introducing new environmentally conscious processes into our industrial market, McAllen continues to add partners to its ‘green’ efforts. Already rated the “Least Toxic City In America” by Forbes in 2011, McAllen will continue to support companies with innovative processes and employment opportunities. Rick Cherry went on to say, “Other than helping us locate incentives and showing us real estate options throughout the McAllen MSA to establish our powder coating venture, McAllen Economic Development has really acted as a partner in putting us in contact with other manufacturers to grow Kazam and Karlee. They truly want operations to succeed and offer their support to make sure they do.”