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Issue link: https://pf.epubxp.com/i/213540
AEROSPACE PLATING Business Jets Supplier of the Year For more than 25 years, HighTech has been supplying decorative metal plating for interior hardware and trim parts for business and head-of-state aircraft from around the globe. The company's plating and finishing offerings are vast because of the often unique demands of its clients; it offers more than 130 standard finishes and unlimited HighTech's 50-step custom-matching capabilities, process includes 17 Whitley says. quality assurance checks. "We have the largest available processing capacity in the aviation market," he says. "We are here to serve our customers." HighTech says it is the only aviation decorative plating supplier to have received both the FAA Part 145 Repair Station and ISO9001/AS9100 quality management system certification designations, meaning it is authorized by the FAA to issue "return to service" form 8130-3 for decorative plating of aircraft parts. HighTech Finishing got its start back in 1984, when the owners purchased a small plating shop specializing in industrial work, tea sets and miscellaneous hardware. In 1991, the owners caught wind that business jet plating was big business, so they attended the National Business Aviation Association trade show. When they realized they were one of only two plating companies in attendance, they thought that servicing business jets would be a great niche to go after. After putting in place a stringent quality control program, HighTech was off and running. "We learned quickly here that the secret to truly getting a good finish is in all the steps before a finish is actually applied," Niefield says. "With all the finishes we offer, it makes it that much more important to make sure that the base surface is prepared and ready to accept whatever finish has been selected. It's a lot of work to get it right." That includes working many of the parts by hand, either through polishing with buffers or simply having workers rub and polish intricate parts with cloth, a time-consuming process that HighTech's customers have come to appreciate. The quality of work has not gone unnoticed. Gulfstream Dallas recently selected HighTech as its "Supplier of the Year." "Gulfstream Dallas decided we wanted to show appreciation to our suppliers; we did an internal survey along with delivery performance and quality, and HighTech was Dallas's top supplier," says Regina Tovar Compton, Dallas procurement manager for Gulfstream Dallas. "They go above and beyond and always do their best to turn parts needed ASAP." The award was hugely appreciated by HighTech's 150-plus workers in its 35,000-sq-ft plant deep in the heart of Texas. "To hear them say that our superior customer service is far above what they typically receive is so gratifying, as we strive every day to not only give each client the best aviation decorative plating available, but to also deliver every order with industry-leading customer service," Whitley says. Niefield says HighTech has four categories of customers: aircraft manufacturers, completions centers, refurbishment centers and designers— all in the business aviation sector. Whitley adds that HighTech has the ability to do more work for commercial aviation companies such as airlines, but rarely do airlines have the need to add higher-quality plating finishes to any of their products. HighTech Finishing offers more than 130 standard finishes and many more custom-matching capabilities. PRODUCTS FINISHING — pfonline.com 17