Finishing innovations spur Tanury Industries

FINE FINISH: From left, Fatima Loureiro, supervisor, Ron Guillain, director of quality and engineering, and Patrick Lynch, vice president of sales, are seen at the finish assembly area at Tanury Industries in Lincoln. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
FINE FINISH: From left, Fatima Loureiro, supervisor, Ron Guillain, director of quality and engineering, and Patrick Lynch, vice president of sales, are seen at the finish assembly area at Tanury Industries in Lincoln. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

When Frederick Tanury and his three brothers started Lincoln-based electroplating company Tanury Industries back in 1946, they couldn’t have known that their small, 10-person family business would blossom into the nearly $20 million a year success it is today.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, Tanury began as an effort to get into the then-burgeoning costume-jewelry industry in Rhode Island. Today, Tanury employs more than 180 people at its production facilities in Lincoln and a sales office in New York.

Throughout the years, Tanury has remained committed not only to business excellence but its core family values.

“This is our father’s business and our grandfather’s business,” said Michael Akkaoui, president and CEO. “We take employing 180 families very seriously and do all we can to ensure growth for all employees in a positive and clean work environment. We are customer-driven to the extreme, sometimes turning product while the customer waits. We pride ourselves in using the best technology available to finish our customer’s product to a work of art.”

- Advertisement -

Tanury is budgeting for conservative growth of 5 percent for 2016, although Akkaoui says the company’s growth rate has exceeded 10 percent annually for several years.

Traditionally, the company has provided precious-metal coatings such as gold, silver and platinum across a wide swath of markets, including automotive and aircraft – but also in products such as jewelry and eyewear. According to Akkaoui, Tanury has also been innovating in electroplating technology by investing in new decorative technologies such as Physical Vapor Deposition, an environmentally friendly coating process.

Tanury produces more than 400 individual orders per day with an average turnaround time of just three days. On its list of more than 1,000 global customers are GM, Ford, Lutron and Zippo.

In the past year, the company has worked to strengthen its place in the market, including wrapping up a three-year process to become qualified to service Dassault Falcon Jets.

“DFJ was looking for better wear on their aircraft components,” said Akkaoui. “We used independent labs around the country to verify our improved process. We expect to finish a minimum of six aircraft in 2016 and then grow that to 12 in 2017.”

An effort to better compete in the global market resulted in the construction of a new laboratory at Tanury. A new scanning electron microscope for film characterization, X-ray fluorescence for thickness measurement, salt spray and humidity testing for corrosion and Taber testing for wear also have been introduced.

Tanury has continued to advance into the decorative finishing market in the Middle East. Company executives travel to Dubai trade shows for aerospace and architectural finishing. In this way, Tanury has formed several informal partnerships with some key suppliers in the region.

Tanury’s efforts and success have definitely not gone unnoticed within the company.

Patrick Lynch has been with Tanury for 21 years, serving as vice president of sales for the past six. For Lynch, innovation lies at the very core of the company’s success and growth.

“The company has a great process for looking toward the future and new technologies,” Lynch said. “Whether it is new technology or the promotion of new services to our customer base, we strive to introduce something new on a regular basis. We truly try to improve our customers’ product offering.”

As is often the case, growth and success come hand in hand with challenges and obstacles.

“The most difficult challenge for our business is both managing and sustaining our growth,” Akkaoui said. “Rhode Island must bring back the R&D tax credit to not only attract new business into the state, but also keep businesses like ours moving forward.” •

No posts to display