From cabinets and furniture to beer tap handles, coasters and awards, woodworkers at the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet) create a bit of everything. For a small expense, their big dreams — and those of ACEnet executive director Larry Fisher — can become reality. It’s all made possible by an Enclosed Finishing Paint Booth from Global Finishing Solutions (GFS) that provides a clean, dependable finishing environment for small businesses on the rise.
Please introduce your organization and tell us your story.
“ACEnet is a private nonprofit that provides community economic development in the Appalachian counties of Ohio. We operate five buildings that have close to a combined 140,000 square feet of space. Our Wood Manufacturing Center (in Nelsonville, Ohio) is about wood manufacturers and metal fabricators using shared-use equipment and space to create products they can sell, either wholesale or retail. Our shared-use wood equipment is available to rent by the hour, and in our GFS paint booth, wood manufacturers can paint or seal wood products, which helps them retain their natural look. The booth is mainly used to finish wood products, however, fabricators can finish metal products inside as well.
“Our GFS paint booth is an important piece of equipment for our small businesses. While they have much of their own equipment, due to the expense, none of them have a paint booth. They have the ability to paint, but without an actual paint booth, they risk dust contaminating all of their products. We are able to provide a paint booth, using a combination of ACEnet funds and grant funds, to all the small businesses that use our Wood Manufacturing Center.”
How did you decide on GFS equipment?
“We talked to other GFS customers who liked the equipment, and they said it works well — people were just thrilled with the equipment. We wanted a paint booth that was manufactured in the U.S. We also wanted a distributor who was regional (David Gadd of Cleveland-based Koehler Rubber & Supply Co.) who could come work with us, and that was very helpful.”
What do you like most about your GFS equipment?
“You just pull open the door to the paint booth, turn on the light, turn on the booth and go to work. When you’re in a shared-use environment, it’s always a big concern how well equipment is going to hold up because you have different people using it. You want to have reliable equipment. When that piece of equipment goes wrong, it affects multiple businesses, and it can become a real problem. We wanted a paint booth that a regular user would know how to operate, is not complicated, and would hold up without giving us a lot of maintenance issues.”
How has your GFS equipment benefited your organization?
“People used to paint outside our building and deal with all the dust. We invested in the GFS paint booth for the safety of others breathing the air, and for dust control. Having such a reliable booth enables people to grow their business, and then they can reinvest their earnings into some of the smaller things that are more affordable such as a sander or saw. This directly advances our mission of growing the regional economy by supporting entrepreneurs and strengthening economic sectors.”
What is the plan for the future of the wood manufacturing center?
“Currently we have someone in the paint booth for a couple of hours almost every day. We’d like to increase the use of our Wood Manufacturing Center so people are in there working for six to eight hours a day.”
