Select Page

The partnership allows best-in-class technology to be provided at cost-effective prices to the industry
By James Carr

Co-founded in 1996 by Rick Ramirez and Kim Atkins, California-based Specialized Coating Services has built a reputation for consistently exceeding customer expectations. Over the past 22 years, the company has been providing contract conformal coating, potting and encapsulation, and ruggedization of PCBs. The business has grown from a startup that focused on a single customer to providing worldwide service and employing more than 100 people. The company has built its reputation by providing quality products, delivering on time and promoting open communication with both customers and suppliers. Currently, Specialized Coating Services meets – or exceeds – demand in a variety of industries, including medical, military, aerospace, electric vehicles, automotive energy and commercial.

In 2003, the company expanded from providing conformal coating services only to the West Coast into the Midwestern and East Coast markets. This year, Specialized Coating Services will open a second facility in Billerica, MA to help facilitate the needs of the company’s Midwestern and East Coast customers by providing quicker turnaround and reducing freight costs, as well as keeping pace with the continued growth in these areas. The 13,000-sq. ft. facility will be equipped with the latest in robotic and conventional spray systems, as well as plasma treatment, cleaning and ionic test equipment, potting and encapsulation meter mix systems, and more. The certifications currently in place in the California facility are planned for mid-2018 in Massachusetts, including AS9100D, ISO 9001:2015, ITAR and ANSI/ESD S20.20, with NADCAP in early 2019. With these certifications in place on both coasts, Specialized Coating Services’ customers will know that their boards will be handled in compliance with the latest practices and procedures.

Specialized Coating Services provides contract services for conformal coating, encapsulating (potting) and ruggedization of printed circuit boards (PCBs) used in numerous segments and applications, including the following:

  • Military: US Navy, Army, Coast Guard ships, submarines, tanks, troop equipment, attack aircraft, guidance systems, rockets and drones
  • Medical: monitors, pacemakers and operating room equipment
  • Commercial: shipyard equipment monitoring, tractors for agriculture, GPS construction equipment, security cameras and traffic monitoring systems
  • Energy: solar, turbines and grid management
  • Space: satellites and space station equipment
  • Aerospace: commercial jets and airplanes
  • Automotive and electric vehicles

The company also provides a range of applications to meet customers’ needs. In addition to offering minor subassembly of parts and aqueous cleaning, it focuses on spraying, robot coating, potting/encapsulation, nano coatings, plasma treatment, ionic testing and UV selection.

Additionally, the company provides a range of services from assisting in the selection of coating, potting or ruggedizing materials to providing prototypes and establishing manufacturing processes that ensure consistent quality and repeatable finishes. Specialized Coating Services provides each customer with unparalleled service and quality. To keep to these high standards and expectations, the company partners only with others that share the same values. Precision Valve and Automation (PVA) is one such partner. Specialized Coating Services utilizes PVA’s Selective Conformal Coating Systems employing an atomized spray process. The company purchased eight PVA coaters that currently are used to provide selective conformal coating to eliminate, or significantly reduce masking.

Many customers choose selective conformal coating as their primary application method. Most military contracts still require a conventional spray method. Spraying is the most expeditious method for coating assemblies. Spray-coating is widely used for protecting all types and sizes of assemblies. With PVA’s systems, Specialized Coating Services can save the customer money.

PVA is globally recognized as an industry leader in fluid dispensing and spray systems for adhesives, sealants, and coatings. The company is a specialty manufacturer of automated and manual dispensing equipment, spray coating equipment, pumps, and valves. Their selective conformal coating systems combine closed-loop process control, high levels of accuracy and repeatability for use in moderate to high-volume manufacturing environments.

Manufacturers around the globe rely on PVA’s conformal coating systems, fluid dispensing solutions and custom automation products. For over 25 years, PVA has been making manufacturing easier with customer-driven solutions used in industries ranging from solar, semiconductor packaging, printed circuit board assembly, medical device manufacturing, and consumer electronics. From benchtop equipment, to inline systems, each opportunity is evaluated independently, and without limitation, to ensure customers receive the most versatile turnkey solution.

PVA provides a wide range of product solutions.  In addition to its selective conformal coating systems, PVA manufactures solutions for automated dispensing, meter-mix dispensing, surface mount adhesives, coating inspection systems, inline curing ovens, optical bonding, board handling, valve controllers, manual dispensing/coating systems and material delivery tanks/pumps.

Specialized Coating Services has been using PVA’s selective coating configurations for more than 12 years. According to Ramirez, President and Co-founder, “PVA’s coating systems meet the flexibility requirements of our customers while providing the consistent quality, reliability and repeatability we depend upon to uphold our reputation as a quality service provider.” As a result of the joint effort between Specialized Coating Services and PVA, Specialized Coating Services has been able to produce 1500-2000 additional boards per day.

For more information about Specialized Coating Services, contact Rick Ramirez, President/Co-Founder, at 42680 Christy St., Fremont, CA 94538; 510-453-4150; E-mail: rick@speccoat.com; Web site: www.speccoat.com. To find out more about Precision Valve & Automation, contact Frank Hart at One Mustang Dr., Cohoes, NY 12047; 518-371-2684; E-mail: fhart@pva.net; or visit www.pva.net.