KopCoat is an ardent supporter of the Softwood lumber industry. KopCoat’s preservative technologies and products have protected Softwood lumber from sapstain, mold, and metal staining for years without direct brand name recognition. However, with the support of a new leadership team and a renewed focus on the science behind the protection, KopCoat is working to expand their market share in the forest products industry by sharing their expertise in solving the complex issues created by biological degradation of wood.
KopCoat has built a world-class organization in raw material procurement, logistics, and research and development with the support of parent company RPM Industrial Coatings Group. RPM Industrial Coatings Group is home to eleven industry-leading brands, including KopCoat Protection Products. RPM Industrial Coatings Group is a division of RPM International Inc., a $7.3B global company with market- and industry-leading brands in specialty coating, sealants, building materials, and related services. This network creates advantages that benefit KopCoat’s customers and will support KopCoat’s emergence as experts in the wood preservation market. KopCoat’s research and development laboratory resides in their Pittsburgh, PA headquarters.
Their facility incorporates a mycology lab for identifying organism infections in wood, testing labs for flood, dip, and spray treatments, as well as a pressure treating cylinder for pressure vacuum testing. KopCoat’s R&D facilities and personnel have established and support over 100 patents in wood preservation technology. KopCoat’s manufacturing of specialty chemical solutions is done at a state-of-the-art facility in Corsicana, TX. KopCoat also operates a manufacturing company, TDS Manufacturing, that designs, builds, programs, and supports wood preservative application systems. TDS has years of experience building dip tanks, linear and transverse spray boxes, and automated chemical mixing rooms. The ability to develop and test new technology, and offer equipment support is invaluable for the service that dominates KopCoat’s approach to the market.
“Totally Outragious Service” is KopCoat’s tagline for the customer-first approach that emanates throughout the organization. KopCoat’s R&D lab is directly tied to each customer through a sales and service specialist that facilitates communication between the customer’s field application and testing in the lab setting. Communication is key for KopCoat’s customer support mechanism as National Business Development Manager, Josiah Wilfong describes, “Our sales and service representatives interact regularly with customers using our products, and become defacto employees for our customers supporting the wood preservation aspect of their business.” KopCoat’s customer service approach was established to earn business, as KopCoat developed market share early in its 40-year existence.
Sustaining the customer first approach, however, has required commitment, that Director of Business Development, Bo Hammond explains this way, “Customer service is what has allowed us to build our business since its inception, and we are sticking with it when our competitors are giving up on it because of the cost. We believe that a long-term customer service approach will produce the business longevity that will prove our model of customer-first works in the marketplace. I spent 26 years in lumber manufacturing and understand how important relationship-built businesses are in that industry and was pleased to join KopCoat because of their similar approach to sales and service.”
KopCoat offers preservative protection to railroad tie treaters, lumber producers, concentration yards buying and air-drying green lumber, retail building product yards, pallet manufacturers, millwork producers, window and door manufacturers, and engineered wood producers. KopCoat prides itself on providing protection for items that are used around the home, on the home, and in the home. This includes Softwoods used in production of dimensional construction lumber, decking and other outdoor spaces, fence pickets, finger-jointed wood for cladding and trim, and composite products.
While KopCoat doesn’t produce any of these products, many of their customers do. As Director of Business Development, Bo Hammond stresses, “From my experience in the lumber industry, I appreciate the challenges a sustainability-focused industry faces against unsubstantiated environmentalist claims, and believe that our products help to preserve one of the best resources available for supporting and accenting buildings.” KopCoat’s team is well-versed in regulatory standards, and prides itself on creating preservative solutions with minimal VOC emissions. Angie Custer, KopCoat’s Regulatory Affairs Specialist, states, “KopCoat is diligent about ensuring the regulatory portion of our process is properly managed, to ensure industry-leading compliance.”
KopCoat also has what they consider, an industry-leading research and development organization that can evaluate wood-decaying organisms, and tailor specific solutions to thwart these biological threats. As Director of Research and Development, Cindy Williams, puts it, “Our laboratory team is composed of chemists committed to developing new ways to defeat the natural development of biological organisms that attack wood.” KopCoat combines an R&D team with an innovation team so KopCoat’s customer is complimented by support and new technology development, to craft an individualized and specific solution tailored for each customer. KopCoat’s goal is to be proactive against evolutionary development of new wood-attacking organisms so we can fully support our customers.
Appreciating that there are several options in the wood preservation market, KopCoat boldly accepts the challenge to do head-to-head trials against their competitors, to prove their claim that they can reduce chemical costs, while achieving equal or better performance. Workhorse® is KopCoat’s primary sapstain and mold control product with the distinction of incorporating two active biocides, and being readily compatible with customizable products to combat new organisms, as they inevitably develop. Distinguishably, KopCoat claims that their technological advances have created a blend of actives and surfactants that perform ideally for protecting lumber from stain, mold, mildew, and metal discoloration.
KopCoat is also ready to introduce a series of complementary products that support mills, and can create an opportunity for lumber producers to consolidate their supplementary products into one supplier, creating simplification and consistency for managers, supervisors, and purchasing agents. Kopaint and Endshield are lumber-end paint and log/lumber-end sealant products that will be ready for spring introduction into lumber markets.
KopCoat appreciates the natural resiliency and sustainability of Softwood lumber, and fully supports the initiatives of promoting wood over non-wood alternatives. KopCoat believes wood is the most renewable, natural resource the world produces. KopCoat understands that properly managed forests will regenerate after harvest, sustaining continual, repetitive utilization over centuries. The environmental benefits of wood are at the forefront today, as carbon sequestration has taken center stage in the global warming conversation. Wood is a preferred building material due to the value and strength it offers.
The appearance of wood is preferred aesthetically for bringing warmth to home décor. Simply put, wood is good. But, like all good things, wood can be better with a little help. That improvement on the natural beauty, durability, and environmental benefit of wood, is what KopCoat’s wood protection is all about. The longer wood lasts, the more each of these positive attributes are accentuated.
KopCoat welcomes the opportunity to answer questions, and explore opportunities to help protect the wood you make and use. Please visit their website www.KopCoat.com, email them at ippd@KopCoat.com, or call their office at 412-227-2426.
