What Surface Solutions does

Surface Solutions Inc. (operating under the TinCoat trade name) is a privately held specialty coatings company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Fridley, Minnesota. The company provides Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating services applied via a cathodic arc vacuum process at approximately 800°F, and currently employs between 1 and 10 people out of a 12,850 square foot facility. The owner is Mike Schultz, and the company has operated continuously for nearly three decades.

Surface Solutions offers five core PVD coatings (Alpha™, TiN, AlTiN, CrN, and TiCN) applied to customer-supplied parts across six primary application areas: injection molding, sheet metal forming/punching, cutting tools, medical devices, firearms, and general wear components. Alpha™ is a proprietary nano-layered coating with a zirconium nitride (ZrN) top layer delivering 4200-4600 Hv hardness, and is the company's primary differentiated product. Supporting services include surface preparation (polishing, tumbling, glass bead blasting), coating stripping for recoating, electroless nickel plating, and free technical consulting. Certifications include FDA 21 CFR Part 820 for medical device coatings and AMS 2444A for aerospace-grade TiN.

The business model is a direct, quote-based service operation. Customers ship parts to the Fridley facility for batch coating under unit pricing that ranges from under $1 to $1,000+ per job depending on part size, batch quantity, coating type, and cleaning requirements, with a $25 minimum charge for cutting tools. Go-to-market is sales-led with a website (tincoat.net), paid search on Google and Bing, social media presence, and inbound quote requests; no resellers or distributors are used. Geographic reach is North America, with customers shipping from across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The customer base is highly horizontal, spanning SMBs to enterprise manufacturers across multiple industrial verticals, with no publicly disclosed revenue or customer concentration.

Name

Surface Solutions

Legal name

Surface Solutions Inc.

Website

https://tincoat.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Surface Solutions (dba TinCoat) is a Minnesota-based PVD coating service provider, founded in 1995, applying five proprietary coatings (Alpha™, TiN, AlTiN, CrN, TiCN) via cathodic arc deposition to industrial tools, medical devices, and wear components for manufacturers across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Coating Services

NAICS

Metal Coating, Engraving (except Jewelry and Silverware), and Allied Services to Manufacturers (332812), Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities (33281)

SIC

Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Application Equipment & Coating Services (Contract Coating, Surface Prep) (IMAEAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial & Commercial Painting/Coatings/Surface Treatment (IMAIAAAK)

Keywords

• PVD coating services
• Physical vapor deposition
• Industrial tool coatings
• Cathodic arc coatings
• Surface engineering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Spring Lake Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. PVD Coating Services: Physical vapor deposition coating services applied to industrial tools, medical components, and wear parts. Customers ship parts to the Minnesota facility for batch coating. Revenue generated per coating job based on part size, quantity, and coating type selected.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Surface Solutions applies physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings to industrial tools, medical instruments, and wear components using a cathodic arc vacuum coating process. Customers ship parts to the company's Fridley, Minnesota facility where five proprietary coating formulations (Alpha™, TiN, AlTiN, CrN, and TiCN) are applied to extend tool life by 2-10x. The company serves manufacturers across metal forming, machining, injection molding, medical device, and firearms industries from a 12,850 square foot facility established in 1995.

Product overview

Surface Solutions provides physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating services through a unified platform of five distinct coating products: Alpha™, TiN, AlTiN, CrN, and TiCN. These coatings are applied using a cathodic arc vacuum coating process at approximately 800°F to industrial tools, medical instruments, and wear components. The core product portfolio centers on these five PVD coating types, which are then applied across six primary application areas: Medical Coatings, Punching, Sheet Metal Forming, Cutting Tools, Injection Molding, and Firearm Coatings. Supporting services include surface preparation (polishing, tumbling, glass bead blasting), coating stripping for recoating, and free technical consulting. The company was founded in 1995 and operates from a 12,850 square foot facility in Fridley, Minnesota.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TinCoat: Trade name and domain used for PVD coating services; branded as TinCoat on website and marketing materials.

Products and services

• Alpha™ Coating An extremely hard, all-purpose, nano-layered PVD coating with zirconium nitride (ZrN) as the top layer. Hardness 4200-4600 Hv, providing 2-4x tool life over TiN with exceptional abrasion resistance and lubricity. Applied to customer parts at the Fridley, MN facility.
• TiN (Titanium Nitride) Coating General-purpose titanium nitride PVD coating providing wear resistance and friction reduction. Hardness 2400-2600 Hv (>80 Rc), inert and stable up to 850°F, biocompatible, coefficient of friction ~0.6 for steel alloys. Provides 2-10x tool life over uncoated tools.
• AlTiN (Aluminum Titanium Nitride) Coating Aluminum titanium nitride PVD coating for high temperature applications. Hardness 4000-4200 Hv with exceptional oxidation resistance up to 800-900°C. Provides 2-7x tool life versus uncoated tools.
• CrN (Chrome Nitride) Coating Chrome nitride PVD coating with excellent lubricity and toughness. Hardness 2200-2400 Hv, thickness up to .0005 inches. Best suited for heavy-duty forming and galling prevention applications.
• TiCN (Titanium Carbo-Nitride) Coating Titanium carbo-nitride PVD coating adding carbon to increase hardness by nearly 80% over TiN. Hardness 4200-4600 Hv, coefficient of friction ~0.2 for steel alloys, oxidation resistant up to 700°F. Provides 2-3x tool life over titanium nitride.
• Medical Device PVD Coatings Application-specific PVD coatings (TiN, AlTiN, TiCN, Alpha™, CrN) applied to medical and surgical instruments for enhanced hardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and reduced friction. Targeted at medical device OEMs and surgical instrument manufacturers.
• Punching and Metal Forming Coatings PVD coatings applied to punches, forming tools, and stamping components. Provides 8-10x punch life with reduced side wear and galling, eliminating metal sticking. Targeted at sheet metal manufacturers and stamping operations.
• Cutting Tool Coatings PVD coatings (AlTiN, Alpha™, TiCN, TiN) applied to end mills, drills, taps, reamers, and inserts for machine shops. Extends tool life and enables more aggressive speeds and feeds, reducing cycle time.
• Injection Molding Coatings PVD coatings (TiN and TiCN) applied to ejector pins, lifts, cavities, and mold components. Increases tool life, reduces downtime, eliminates galling, and improves part release for injection mold manufacturers and operators.
• Firearm Coatings PVD coatings (TiN, AlTiN, CrN, Alpha™) applied to gun components for wear protection, appearance enhancement, and product differentiation. Service offered to firearm manufacturers only, not individual consumers.
• Surface Preparation and Polishing Services Pre-coating surface preparation including hand polishing, tumbling, glass bead blasting, and sand blasting/texturing to ensure proper adhesion and coating quality.
• Coating Stripping Services Chemical removal of existing PVD coatings from steel alloys to enable recoating and extend tool life. Stripping cost is approximately 40% of coating cost.
• Electroless Nickel Plating Additional surface treatment process offered in conjunction with PVD coating services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tools last 2-10x longer with PVD coating compared to uncoated tools
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• voestalpine eifeler Coatings: Specialty PVD coatings provider serving cutting tools, forming, and precision components globally. Direct competitor in PVD chemistry portfolio and industrial customer base.
• Phygen Coatings: U.S.-based PVD coating service provider with multiple U.S. coating centers, offering TiN, TiCN, CrN, AlTiN, and proprietary coatings. Direct competitor in the same horizontal shoot-and-ship PVD service model.
• IBC Coating Technologies: U.S.-based PVD coating service provider operating multiple coating centers for cutting tools, forming, and medical components. Comparable customer mix and chemistry portfolio.
• Cemecon: German PVD and CVD coating services company specializing in premium coatings for cutting tools and wear components. Comparable technology stack and customer segments.
• Techmetals Inc. U.S.-based metal finishing and hard coating service provider offering TiN, CrN, and DLC coatings for industrial and aerospace customers. Comparable mid-market PVD coating service model.

Broad incumbents

• IHI Hauzer Techno Coating: Industrial PVD coating equipment manufacturer and service provider with broad automotive and industrial OEM relationships. Comparable cathodic arc technology and customer verticals.
• HEF Group: French surface engineering group offering PVD, DLC, and functional coatings for industrial and automotive customers. Comparable portfolio of wear-resistant and decorative coatings.
• Praxair Surface Technologies (Linde): Large-scale thermal spray and PVD coating services provider, especially strong in aerospace and industrial gas turbines. Comparable in regulated-vendor coatings for high-spec applications.
• Oerlikon Balzers: Global leader in PVD and PACVD coatings with a network of over 100 coating centers. Direct competitor in metallic PVD coatings for cutting tools, forming, and components, with far broader geographic footprint and R&D resources.

Regional players

• Apticote (Poeton Industries): UK-based specialist coatings provider offering PVD, DLC, and surface treatments for tooling, aerospace, and medical applications. Comparable in regulated markets and metallurgical coating expertise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/surfacesolns
• Facebookfacebook.com/Surface-Solutions-Inc-238628896218284
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/surface-solutions-inc-

Compliance2 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 Surface Solutions