Alpha Coatings was started by Terry White and a partner in August of 1990 to apply rubber, using metal adhesive coatings, to metal parts used on military vehicles.  It was anticipated that building the business would be a slow, steady process, when suddenly the Persian Gulf War broke out, the military shifted into high gear and Alpha went to three shifts a day. 

At that time, Alpha was one of three companies with the same management (the others were Black Machine and BT Industries).  Black built various types of equipment, generally customized to the customer’s specific needs, including presses, assembly equipment, flock machines, etc.  BT Industries, like Alpha, was a coating applicator but worked with different sizes and parts.

Ultimately, the three companies were merged together as Alpha Coatings, Inc. in 2000. This resulted in Alpha Coatings adding the design and building of high-technology machinery to the application of coatings. 

In 1993, Alpha began coating rubber weatherstrips for Cooper Tire.  At that time, The Standard Products Company and Cooper Tire were Alpha’s largest customers, with a variety of other customers, including Tenneco Automotive, Allied Baltic.

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