Specialty Painting & Powder Coating, 40-Year Oregon Architectural Finisher

$2.5M

Revenue

$650K

SDE

3.9x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 40-year-old specialty architectural finishing company operating out of a single 16,000+ square foot Oregon facility it has occupied since the 1970s. The business applies paint and powder coating to aluminum components for the exterior of new commercial construction: panels, window frames, roof trim, column covers, perf panels, railing, and facade pieces. It is one of the few Pacific Northwest shops offering both paint and powder coating capabilities under one roof, and it markets itself as a nationwide finisher for recognized commercial buildings.

The customer base is B2B and diversified across aluminum contractors, commercial glass companies, sheet metal contractors, fabricators, and rail companies. All manufacturing and finishing is done in-house, giving the buyer control over quality and turnaround. On roughly $2.46M in revenue the business throws off $650K in SDE, a 26% owner-earnings margin that is healthy for a coating job shop, and it does so with the current owner operating mostly absentee via telephone.

At a $2.5M asking price (3.85x SDE), the seller is retiring, offering negotiable seller financing and a transferable lease that runs through 12/31/2026 at roughly $12,762 per month. The dual paint-and-powder capability and 20+ years under current ownership are the real differentiators here, though the entire operation is tied to one aging leased facility and to the pace of commercial construction.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for a job shop: $650K SDE on $2.46M revenue is a 26% margin, and the fact that the owner runs it mostly absentee by phone suggests the cash flow is not propped up by heroic owner labor. That absentee structure is rare in industrial finishing and materially de-risks the transition for a buyer who installs a real plant manager.
The moat is the dual paint-and-powder capability under one roof, described as one of the few such facilities in the Pacific Northwest. Coating is a physically anchored, permit-and-relationship-heavy business, so architects, glass companies, and fabricators do not switch finishers casually once specs and quality are proven over 40 years.
Customer diversification is a strength: revenue spreads across aluminum contractors, commercial glass companies, sheet metal contractors, fabricators, and rail companies rather than one big account. That mix cushions the business against any single contractor cutting spend or going under.
The price is grounded at 3.85x SDE with seller financing available and negotiable terms, which lets a buyer share downside risk with the seller. Combined with a low $15K inventory carry and a knowable lease cost, the capital structure is clean and the entry multiple is reasonable for a 40-year operating history.

How to improve it

Formalize the management layer immediately. The business is already absentee-run by phone, so document the plant manager role, standard operating procedures, and quality protocols in the first 90 days so the enterprise is not dependent on undocumented tribal knowledge held by the departing owner.
Lock down the facility before doing anything else. The lease expires 12/31/2026, so negotiate a long-term renewal or a purchase option on the building in the first quarter, because the entire operation is a single-site coating line that cannot be quickly relocated without losing customers.
Diversify beyond new commercial construction. New-build exterior aluminum finishing is cyclical, so add recoating, refurbishment, and maintenance contracts on existing buildings to build a counter-cyclical revenue stream that holds up when new construction slows.
Build a real outbound sales function. The business appears to run on inbound relationships and reputation, so hiring one dedicated estimator/salesperson to pursue architects and general contractors earlier in the spec process could meaningfully raise win rates and quote volume.
Invest in capacity and throughput analysis. Employee count swings from 10 to 20 depending on jobs, which signals lumpy scheduling, so measuring line utilization and adding a second shift or automated line handling could lift revenue without a facility move.
Tighten pricing and job costing. In coating, margin leaks come from underbid jobs and rework, so implement per-job costing and scrap/rework tracking to identify which customers and part types are actually profitable and reprice the losers.
Pursue certifications and spec approvals. AAMA and applicator qualifications get a finisher named in architectural specs, so securing or renewing the certifications that put this shop on approved-vendor lists would create durable, hard-to-displace demand.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize revenue cyclicality and backlog. This is exterior finishing for new commercial construction, which is highly sensitive to interest rates and building starts, so pull 5+ years of monthly revenue and current signed backlog to understand how deep the 2008-style troughs run for this specific shop.
Verify the absentee claim and true owner workload. The listing says the owner operates mostly by phone, but confirm exactly who manages estimating, customer relationships, scheduling, and quality, because if those functions actually live with the owner, the SDE will require a manager hire that cuts real cash flow.
Confirm lease renewal terms and environmental liability. The lease ends 12/31/2026 and the building dates to the 1970s, so get written landlord intent on renewal, and order Phase I/II environmental assessment given decades of paint, solvent, and powder coating operations that can create contamination and disposal liabilities.
Examine customer concentration and repeat-order data. Confirm what percentage of revenue comes from the top 5 customers and how sticky those relationships are, because a diversified list on paper can still hide one or two contractors driving the majority of volume.
Assess equipment condition and remaining useful life. Powder coating ovens, spray lines, and pretreatment systems are capital-intensive, so inspect the age and maintenance history of the finishing equipment to estimate near-term capex that is not reflected in the SDE.
Validate the workforce and its transferability. With headcount flexing from 10 to 20, understand whether skilled applicators are W-2 employees or temp labor, what wage inflation looks like, and whether key line operators intend to stay through and after the sale.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →