Ken Nein spent more than 30 years in the paint industry before deciding to venture out into his own firm by starting Iconic Coatings Company in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sold powder coating for many years in my career and developed relationships with OEM accounts,\u201d Nein said. \u201cThey were constantly having issues with their applicators. They hinted that they wished they had more reliable coaters in the area. That got me thinking of getting into the applicator field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nein had to raise capital through an SBA loan, go through the permitting process and find the correct facility.<\/p>\n
Since that start, he acquired a 20,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Fullerton, where he employs 13 people, including his two sons.<\/p>\n
Iconic Coatings is a finishing company serving original equipment manufacturers in industries such as commercial lighting and construction. Iconic applies the final coat of paint to metals that often face the elements. The paint protects products like doors, windows and signs against rain, pollution, salt and extreme temperatures.
Nein\u2019s weathered COVID-19 by pivoting to smaller jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCOVID slowed down my ability to work with large production facilities,\u201d he said. \u201cRather than going directly to manufacturing companies, I was forced to find smaller businesses like tire rims and patio furniture.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s well documented that several large manufacturers have left California due to the cost of doing business, such as labor, utilities and regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to stay, stick it out. Maybe I\u2019ll be the last man standing,\u201d Nein said. \u201cI keep it lean and manageable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nowadays, he is focused on the architectural industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see that as our future,\u201d Nein said. \u201cIt cannot be replaced or offshored. They\u2019re building residential or commercial buildings\u2014everything needs to be finished here locally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lead time is very short, and when they\u2019re finished fabricating everything, they\u2019re pretty much behind schedule. They need the last part done yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
He plans to continue renovating his factory by adding more automation and expanding into new locations.<\/p>\n
When asked for his advice to others who want to start a business, he joked, \u201cDon\u2019t do it. Are you insane?\u201d<\/p>\n
On a serious note, he said companies must have \u201ca good reputation in the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe focused on your product. Deliver the best product available.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Editor\u2019s Note: Author Peter J. Brennan has known Ken Nein for a decade because Ken\u2019s son Jeff is married to Peter\u2019s daughter Nicole.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ken Nein spent more than 30 years in the paint industry before deciding to venture out into his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-299289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}