THE inPAINT INTERVIEW LIGHT INDUSTRIAL PAINTER
A Unique Niche Market: Metal and Steel Surfaces HOW ONE BOSTON-AREA BUSINESS IS MEETING THE NEEDS OF COMMERCIAL MANUFACTURING CLIENTS
BY MEGHANN FINN SEPULVEDA Jim Kaloutas began his painting career in 1987 at 19 years old, following in the footsteps of his father, an experienced residential painter. Prior to launching Kaloutas Painting, he often served as an English translator for his father, a native of Greece, communicating on his behalf during business transactions. In the years that followed, Kaloutas gained a wealth of experience, learning the intricacies of the business and developing the necessary skills to shift the focus from residential projects to commercial and light industrial painting—and ultimately grew Kaloutas Painting into a successful, multimillion-dollar company. Now 50, married and the father of two children, he serves as the president of Kaloutas Painting, leading a team of experienced field personnel and foremen who provide light industrial painting, flooring and cleaning services to a wide range of clients.
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inPAINT | April 2018
Q
What exactly is light industrial painting?
Q
Are there any specific skills or equipment needs?
This specialized type of work refers to the containment, cleaning, preparation, priming and coating of structural steel, rooftop dunnage, tanks, silos, enclosures and various other types of steel and concrete structures. While proper substrate preparation is essential, the coating system must be carefully and thoughtfully specified for each unique scope of work. Given that much of the work we perform takes place within occupied manufacturing environments, our specialty space containment systems are carefully installed to ensure safe, healthy, dust-free environments for our installers and clients. Our ability to perform these essential services, while allowing our clients to maintain their production schedules, has created a valuable working relationship for both parties.
Our team members must have good customer service skills, strong attention to detail, and the ability to adhere to facility regulations specifically centered around safety. In this type of industry, there are strict guidelines that must be followed, so it’s extremely important that our staff has the ability to adjust to these requirements. We provide on-the-job training to not only protect our employees, but to also maintain a safe work environment for our clients. The equipment we use is identical, regardless of which type of job we’re on, meaning we all use the same paint sprayer to coat a surface. However, the coating