What started out as a teenage hobby has transformed into an adult vocation for Rick Taylor, owner of Rick’s Powder Coating & Customs at 3487 Democrat.

The family-owned small business features powder coating, which Taylor promotes as more durable than wet paint. Once a surface is thoroughly cleaned and prepared, the powder is applied and baked on.

The result is a long-lasting finish that may look like paint, but is environmentally friendly.

“We don’t produce toxic fumes that can damage the ozone layer and are harmful to humans,” Taylor said. “And there are no solvents involved, which means no dangerous emissions. We’re very green.”

And very colorful.

One benefit to the powder coating system, Taylor said, is that it may be matched to virtually anything. The only limit is the customer’s imagination.

“One woman had some lawn furniture and she wanted it to be the same color as a bright pink shirt she had,” Taylor said. “We shipped the shirt off to get the right color and it turned out to be a perfect match. I’d never seen anything like it, but she was thrilled with it and that’s what matters. We do our best to give customers what they want.”

From a tiny one-man startup operation focused mostly on automobiles and motorcycles, the business has expanded to a 23,000-square-foot facility specializing in a variety of coating and customizing services.

As a high schooler, Taylor spent many weekends restoring cars and helping friends customize their vehicles. After graduating from Christian Brothers University with a business degree, he worked as a mechanic for a while, but with a bit of urging from his father, he struck out on his own.

“Rick was always a go-getter and had a great head for business, even at a young age,” said his dad, Tom Taylor. “He worked to save up his money and by the time he was 16 he had enough to buy his first car with cash. That’s the kind of dedication he has.”

And that dedication extended to his research about starting his own company. Taylor toured similar businesses in Houston, Texas, and Huntsville, Ala., before taking the leap.

Finally, he decided that there should be enough local business to make his plan feasible. After a few bumps in the road, he found his calling.

“At first it was tough because there weren’t many jobs and I wondered if I was doing the right thing, but I just kept at it,” Taylor said. “Eventually, word spread and we started getting customers from all over. Now the business is booming.”

Gone are the days when Taylor spent most of his time looking for jobs. These days he and a staff of 10 process thousands of pieces at the business every day.

A quick look inside the facility reveals a flurry of activity. Workers constantly clean, coat and bake pieces, treating everything from lawn furniture to bed frames to iron staircases.

To handle the increased demand, Taylor recently expanded the size of the facility and installed a large state-of-the-art conveyor system. The decision paid off when he received a contract to color-coat 250,000 pipes for a company that will use them to make swing sets.

And that’s just one job. There are hundreds of others, and they just keep coming.

“We do a little bit of everything,” Taylor said. “I always wanted to own a business, but I never imagined it would turn out as great as this. This is more than I ever dreamed would happen.”

Rick’s Powder Coating & Customs

Owner: Rick Taylor

Founded: 2002

Employees: 11

Location: 3487 Democrat

Hours: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday

Phone: 367-2771

Web site: rickspowdercoating.com