Ted Schreyer, left, and John Kapsner own Associated Finishing in Mankato.
Covering it all Company finishes everything from tiny NFL screens to ag equipment
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By Dan Greenwood | Photos by Pat Christman
ohn Kapsner and Ted Schreyer knew a long time ago that they would become the owners of Associated Finishing, a Mankato-based powder coating company. In 2009, that dream would become reality. Powder coating protects ever ything from machiner y to household items as an alternative to paint, without the use of solvents. Schreyer says they grind plastic up to the consistency of talcum powder and pump it through a hose. He likens the process to rubbing a balloon and sticking it to a wall. “There’s an electrical charge put on the powder and that makes the powder stick to the grounded part,” explains Schreyer. “So you may have negatively charged powder, a positive ground on your part and the opposites attract so the powder will stick to it. You bake that approximately 400 degrees and then it melts and makes a real hard coating, much harder than typical paints.”
The partnership between Schreyer and Kapsner was sewn in 1988. Kapsner was a banker for Associated Finishing when previous owner Chuck Klammer and Schreyer met with him over lunch. Klammer asked him to join the business full time. “At the end of the conversation I said I would do that on one condition. Someday I would have an opportunity to buy the company,” Kapsner said. “Ted chuckled and he says ‘well that’s why I’m here. Eventually I want to buy the company.’” With that, the three shook hands. When they bought the business in 2009 they had 20 years working together. Kapsner had the financing experience while Schreyer knew the production side. “Our strengths complimented each other and the partnership has worked out real well,” Schreyer said.
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16 • FEBRUARY 2018 • MN Valley Business
Expanding their base
While the company has largely focused on powder coating agricultural machinery, an economic slump in
