Cardinal Paint & Powder

What Cardinal Paint & Powder does

Cardinal Paint & Powder is a US-based, privately held industrial coatings manufacturer founded in 1952 and headquartered in South El Monte, California. The company formulates and sells both liquid coating systems (top coats, primers, touch-ups, UV curable coatings, additives, reducers, specialty finishes, conductive coatings, adhesion promoters, and metal conditioners) and powder coating systems (specialty finishes, superdurable, Cardinal Xpress, epoxy, TGIC polyester, polyurethane polyester, HAA polyester, hybrid, and primers). It also sells specialty lines Luthierlac and Luthierthane targeted at fine musical instrument finishes.

The underlying technology spans waterborne, solventborne, UV curable, and high-solids liquid chemistries alongside multiple powder chemistries (epoxy, TGIC/HAA/polyurethane polyester, hybrid), supported by in-house compliance testing. Products carry CARB, SCAQMD Rule 1145, REACH, RoHS/WEEE, LEED, Prop 65, and Conflict Mineral Free certifications, addressing OEM customers in regulated end markets. A dedicated powder coating sub-brand, Cardinal Xpress, supports a boutique small-order service with minimum orders starting at 5 lbs.

The company makes money primarily through direct B2B sales of coatings to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), supplemented by an e-commerce storefront (shop.cardinalpaint.com) for smaller orders. Pricing is quote-based for enterprise customers, with unit pricing on the boutique e-commerce side. Cardinal serves at least 14 end-market verticals — including industrial manufacturing, electronics, musical instruments, signage, transportation, glass, aerospace, heavy equipment, architectural, marine, and medical — and operates manufacturing and distribution facilities across North America and Asia. The company employs 51-100 people and was founded by Marvin Ekstorm.

Name

Cardinal Paint & Powder

Legal name

Cardinal Paint & Powder

Website

https://cardinalpaint.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cardinal Paint & Powder is a US-based, privately held industrial coatings manufacturer founded in 1952, formulating liquid and powder coating systems for OEMs across at least 14 end-market verticals, with multi-region facilities in North America and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Coatings

NAICS

Paint and Coating Manufacturing (325510)

SIC

Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Protective Coatings (IMAEAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Powder Coatings (IMAEAHAE)

Keywords

• Industrial coatings
• Powder coatings
• Liquid coatings
• OEM coating solutions
• Specialty finishes

Headquarters

HQ city

South El Monte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Coatings Product Sales: Sale of liquid and powder coating products to industrial customers, including topcoats, primers, specialty finishes, and related coating systems. Products are sold in various quantities with minimum orders starting at 5 lbs for powder coatings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cardinal Paint & Powder manufactures and sells industrial liquid and powder coating systems, including topcoats, primers, UV curable coatings, conductive coatings, adhesion promoters, metal conditioners, specialty finishes, and superdurable powder chemistries. The company serves OEMs across markets such as industrial manufacturing, electronics, transportation, heavy equipment, architectural, marine, medical, and musical instruments, providing custom formulation and in-house compliance testing from facilities in North America and Asia. Specialty sub-brands include Cardinal Xpress (boutique powder color service), Luthierlac (nitrocellulose musical instrument lacquers), and Luthierthane (polyurethane musical instrument finishes).

Product overview

Cardinal Paint & Powder is an industrial coatings manufacturer established in 1952, offering a comprehensive portfolio of liquid and powder coating systems. The product offering consists of two core product lines: Liquid Coatings (including top coats, primers, touch-ups, UV curable, additives, reducers, specialty finishes, conductive coatings, adhesion promoters, and metal conditioners) and Powder Coatings (including specialty finishes, superdurable, Cardinal Xpress, epoxy, TGIC polyester, polyurethane polyester, HAA polyester, hybrid, and primers). The company also produces specialty products such as Luthierlac and Luthierthane for musical instrument finishes. These products serve various industrial markets and substrates including cold rolled steel, aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized, plastics, composites, wood, glass, and concrete. Cardinal operates facilities across North America and Asia, providing coatings solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cardinal Xpress: A unique handcrafted, boutique powder coating service offering solid colors in gloss range 10-90 and texture finishes, utilizing exterior durable polyester TGIC chemistry.
• Luthierlac
• Luthierthane

Products and services

• Liquid Coatings Industrial liquid coating systems including topcoats, primers, touch-ups, UV curable coatings, additives, reducers, specialty finishes, conductive coatings, adhesion promoters, and metal conditioners. Formulated in waterborne, solvent-borne, UV curable, and high-solids chemistries to meet demanding performance and emission standards across metal, plastic, composite, wood, glass, and concrete substrates.
• Powder Coatings
• Cardinal Xpress
• Luthierlac
• Luthierthane
• OEM Custom Formulation and In-House Compliance Testing

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hempel: Global coatings company with strong industrial, marine, and protective coatings franchises. Comparable to Cardinal in marine, industrial, and architectural liquid coatings serving OEMs across multiple geographies.
• Axalta Coating Systems: Pure-play industrial and transportation coatings company offering both liquid and powder systems to OEMs. Closest large-scale peer to Cardinal in industrial OEM liquid and powder coatings, particularly in transportation, heavy equipment, and industrial segments.
• TCI Powder Coatings: US-based powder coatings manufacturer offering custom formulations across epoxy, polyester, polyurethane, and hybrid chemistries. Directly competes with Cardinal's powder coatings portfolio in the North American OEM market.
• Tiger Coatings: Austrian powder coatings specialist with global manufacturing including North America. Direct competitor in powder coatings serving industrial, architectural, and functional OEM applications.

Broad incumbents

• AkzoNobel: Global paints and coatings major with strong industrial and powder coatings franchises (including Interpon). Directly comparable to Cardinal across liquid and powder OEM coatings, especially in Europe and Asia where Cardinal has facilities.
• BASF Coatings: Division of BASF SE serving automotive OEM, automotive refinish, and industrial liquid coatings. Overlaps with Cardinal in OEM liquid topcoats, primers, and conductive/functional coatings, with deeper global R&D and raw-material integration.
• Sherwin-Williams: Largest coatings company in North America with industrial, automotive refinish, and protective/marine segments. Competes with Cardinal in industrial OEM liquid and powder coatings and benefits from unmatched scale, distribution, and brand recognition.
• RPM International: Holding company for specialty coatings and sealants brands (including Stonhard, Tremco, Carboline). Competes with Cardinal in industrial and specialty protective coatings through a federated portfolio of niche-focused subsidiaries.
• PPG Industries: Global coatings major with broad industrial, automotive, aerospace, and protective coatings portfolios. Overlaps with Cardinal across liquid industrial coatings for OEM customers, but operates at vastly greater scale with full R&D and global account coverage.
• Nippon Paint Holdings: Asia-headquartered global coatings major with growing industrial and automotive OEM exposure. Comparable to Cardinal across liquid and powder OEM coatings in Asian and North American markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOupYFhEzTMbKz0Ec2d63sg

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cardinal Paint & Powder