(Editor’s note: This is the 32nd installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life. See previous installments here.)
Just about anything can shine at Tanury Industries.
It’s hard to miss the reflections coming off all kinds of objects – from eyeglass frames to light-switch covers or intricate jewelry pieces – on the Lincoln-based metal finishing company’s production floor.
This constant diversification is what has allowed it to stay in business for more than 80 years, said Chairman Thomas Tanury.
“We’re always looking for new markets, new things to plate,” Tanury said. “It could be something small or something big.”
In 1970, 99% of the company’s work was in jewelry. But as the jewelry industry moved overseas, Tanury continued to expand its offerings.
Now, jewelry makes up about 20% of the company’s work, Tanury said. The largest markets Tanury serves are lighting, electronics, aerospace and giftware, which includes items such as Christmas tree ornaments and lighters.
As the company has expanded into different industries, it has earned certifications to ensure it meets quality standards. When Tanury expanded into aerospace, it became Federal Aviation Administration certified, and the company is also National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program certified, along with its Internal Organization for Standardization, or ISO, and ISO 9100 certifications.
This diversification has helped the company’s workload stay more consistent throughout the year and has been key to Tanury’s durability.
The company has certainly faced challenges.
For example, A.T. Cross Co. – one of the oldest pen manufacturers – was one of Tanury’s top clients for decades. Then A.T. Cross moved its manufacturing to China in 2003. More recently, prominent jewelry maker and former client of Tanury, Alex and Ani LLC, closed 20 stores and vacated its Rhode Island headquarters in 2023. At one point, Tanury was processing 25,000 bracelets from Alex and Ani a day – then that suddenly fell to nothing.
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RISING REVENUE: Tanuary Industries CEO and President Michael Akkaoui says the metal finishing company annually brings in more than $25 million in revenue, and that number has only been increasing.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
To overcome these setbacks, Tanury repurposed equipment and shifted employees specifically for those customers to different departments, said CEO and President Michael Akkaoui.
“We are at the will of our customers,” Akkaoui said. “That’s why it’s important to continue to go after new technology, new markets, more customers, and hopefully that continues to spread the burden if something should go down.”
The company brings in more than $25 million in revenue each year, and this number has only been rising, Akkaoui said.
Tanury’s employees have been crucial to its continued growth.
Tanury said the company has about 220 employees now, a dramatic increase from the 25 employees it had in the 1990s. And there has been little turnover – just 2% each year – as many employees have stayed with Tanury for decades, mainly because of the support offered to employees.
“We stand by our folks 1,000%,” Tanury said. “It pays its benefits.”
Tanury wants to keep employees because they have gone through extensive training to keep up with the company’s growth.
“You can run all the ads in the newspaper and on the internet and you’re not going to find people with our skill set,” Tanury said. “They just don’t exist.”
For example, an employee must be trained just to turn on Tanury’s scanning electron microscope – equipment usually found in universities. The machine, which acts like a super microscope, is used to inspect the thickness of the metal coating on a product.
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FINISHING TOUCH: Katherine Aldarondo applies a mask to a part of the piece before it is plated, producing a two-tone finish at metal finishing company Tanury Industries in Lincoln.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
Elsewhere in Tanury’s nearly 70,000-square-foot manufacturing site is an automatic sandblaster that was purchased about a year and a half ago. Along with the $85,000 machine, Tanury hired three employees to operate it after the company noticed a growing demand for sandblasted products among its customers.
“A customer has a need, we respond – we put the capacity in,” said Patrick Lynch, vice president of sales. “That’s how they keep going and we keep growing.”
Whether it’s sandblasting, polishing, getting a clear coat or multiple colors – each order that comes to Tanury will move through many different steps depending on what the customer is seeking.
Tanury’s business began in electroplating. This is a process where an object is placed in a water bath that has ions of the metal a customer wants coated on the object. Then an electric current is sent through the bath, causing the metal ions to stick to the object.
Electroplating for smaller orders at Tanury is done in a large room with dozens of water baths – though most of them are just water, Lynch said. That’s because it’s important to rinse off pieces and ensure they’re clean.
The company uses up to 60,000 gallons of water a day to support its work, Lynch said. This is all treated and tested by the company to meet Narragansett Bay Commission specifications.
In the 1990s, Tanury introduced physical vapor deposition, or PVD. This is a process that can stock metals together that can’t be electroplated together. The metal to be attached is heated up into a vapor, which is captured. Then it gets condensed down back onto the surface of a product.
PVD coatings are mainly used for products that need more durability, such as bathroom fixtures, plumbing or motorcycles, Tanury said.
Tanury was chosen to work with ACS Industries Inc. on a project funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Specifically, Tanury will be building a piece of equipment that will put PVD coating on fuel cells.
The company also offers Cerakote, a coating that’s more like paint and is sprayed onto products by a robot. Cerakote has ground ceramic in it, so it’s wearable and comes in more than 100 colors.
Cerakote can look like aluminum and has become popular among customers, including commercial airlines, which want something that’s more wearable than other methods such as anodizing. It became so popular that Tanury built a whole new room to meet the growing demand for Cerakote.
“As markets change and trends change, people are looking for different coatings and different finishes. Sometimes it’s just purely for aesthetics, and sometimes it’s for wearability and corrosion resistance,” Tanury said. “We can satisfy both needs: You want it to look good, we can make it look good. You want it to wear well, we can make it wear well.”
