Talking industrial painting jobs with a project manager at Thomas Industrial Coatings

Ricky Simpson is a project manager at Thomas Industrial Coatings. Here he talks about growing up around industrial painting, the Thomas family and his career with the company so far.

What is your official job title at Thomas Industrial Coatings?

I’m a project manager.

When did you begin working with the company?

I began in March of 2006.

Was this your first job in the industry or had you worked with other companies before this?

Well my dad had his own sandblasting and painting company. So in high school and in college I would help out with his business in the summer. So I had been around it for a while before I came here. I left for college, and then out of college I came straight to Thomas.

What position did you hold when you joined Thomas?

I was a painter. I’ve only been a project manager for about three months now. I was blasting and painting for about six years before.

What sort of training did you undergo when you arrived at Thomas?

I went through an apprenticeship. I came in as a second-year apprentice, learning everything from residential to commercial to industrial. Then I took classes in respiratory safety, rigging, brushing and rolling and all the rest.

Do you learn to specialize in an area, or do you learn various disciplines?

You basically learn it all in the apprenticeship program. Much of what you learn as an apprentice doesn’t directly apply to the industrial side of the business, until you get into the second and third years.
When I first started out it was paintbrushes and latex paints, stuff that we don’t normally use, but it’s great practice for working in other areas. It gives you a taste of a little bit of everything in the painting industry, so I think it’s good.

Are you currently on a job?

Yes. I’m at the Eads Bridge and I’ve been here for a little over a year. It’s nice because I’m from St. Louis.

Are you traveling often?

Not too often. I would say that in my six years with Thomas I’ve been traveling for about one. I have some little ones at home so staying in town works well for me.

Given the types of situations in which you work, how doe Thomas Industrial Coatings demonstrate that they take your safety seriously?

Well it’s definitely something that’s communicated to us on a daily basis, the importance of safety. It’s always a part of the conversation. Whether it’s when we switch gears on job-site and we’re talking about new safety considerations, or it’s the equipment that we’re provided. Our equipment is always top-notch. We’re not being slighted on that. It’s definitely a high priority.

Did you know anything about the reputation of Thomas Industrial Coatings before you began working for them?

Yes. I’ve known Donnie Thomas since I was six years old. I graduated from school with a lot of the guys who now work here. My dad started out working for Donnie, and he’s working for Thomas again now. It’s a bit of a family thing.

Knowing their reputation like you do, what do you think general contractors expect from Thomas when they’re on the job-site?

Well you’re going to get a quality product and your job will be done on time. We stand out as far as the safety numbers we put up, and the precautions that we take as well. We go above and beyond what most companies do. We set the bar pretty high.

If someone were to ask you why they should work at Thomas Industrial Coatings, what answer would you give them?

Well it’s a great opportunity to provide for you and your family. Also, you come to work and the number one concern is that you leave unharmed. It’s a really safe place to work. And if you like physical labor and teamwork, this is the place to be.

Check out some of the reviews our employees have given us on our Facebook page to learn what others are saying about working with Thomas Industrial Coatings. When you’re ready to take the next step, visit our careers page to browse open positions.

Ask the right questions about safety. Download our guide for hiring a safe industrial painter.

Two more first-place Finishing Touch Awards for Thomas Industrial Coatings

We’re excited to announce that the St. Louis Construction News and Review has recognized two of our projects as first-place Finishing Touch Award recipients, and one as a second-place finisher. 

In association with The Painting & Decoration Foundation and the Wall & Ceiling Advancement Fund, nine projects were honored based on six categories. They include craftsmanship, creativity, execution, level of difficulty and use of color as a design element.

The two projects for which Thomas Industrial Coatings won first-place Finishing Touch Awards were the Huey P. Long Bridge Section 6, and the Fon du Lac Hydroelectric Station. In the industrial structures category, Thomas Industrial Coatings also took second place for its work on the Hurricane Deck Bridge over the Lake of the Ozarks. 

These awards belong to the crews that earned them. We would like all of you who performed above and beyond the call of duty on these two jobs, and congratulate you on the recognition from a respected industry publication.

A big thanks also to the folks at the St. Louis Construction News and Review, The Painting & Decorating Foundation and the Wall & Ceiling Advancement Fund for the acclaim. 

ENR Top Specialty Contractors issue once again features Thomas Industrial Coatings

The Engineering News-Record recently released its annual list of the Top 600 Specialty Contractors, ranked according to revenue. Every year, ENR conducts a survey of large subcontractors based in the U.S. in order to “bring structure to an otherwise huge and chaotic industry.” Thomas Industrial Coatings was once again named among these ENR top specialty contractors.  

The issue also breaks specialty contractors into subsections based on company specialties. Thomas Industrial Coatings is proud to announce it ranked 5th out of the Top 20 Firms in Painting, and 296th among all U.S.-based specialty contractors.

Thomas Industrial Coatings would like to congratulate all the fine contractors who made the list this year.

TIC crew members assist with emergency gasoline leak containment

One of the greatest benefits of the safety culture we’ve created here at Thomas Industrial Coatings is knowing that, in case of an emergency, our people have the knowledge and tools necessary to handle the situation. That’s why we were incredibly proud to hear that members of one of our crews recently played a key role in preventing disaster at a job site.

When a crane operator on our J. E. Roush Dam project in Huntington, IN alerted TIC’s Greg Perry to a report of a 300-gallon container filled with gasoline seemly abandoned on the dam’s roadway by a passer-by, he collected other members of his crew, Frank Henriquez and Matt Shannon, to address the problem. Fire extinguishers in hand, the three stopped all traffic at both ends of the project and assessed the situation. With fluid leaking from the container, emergency services were called and a spill kit was put into use in an attempt to keep more gasoline from escaping on to the road. Once the Fire Department and Homeland Security arrived, Greg, Frank and Matt assisted in containment by using buckets and an empty 55-gallon drum they had on hand until the original container could be drained enough to be secured and hauled away.

Thanks to their quick thinking and reliance on their knowledge of safety procedures, Greg, Frank and Matt were able to prevent any damage or injury that could have been caused by this spill. Their handling of the situation speaks volumes of both their dedication to safety and TIC’s commitment to hiring and training the most capable people we can find for our crews. Thanks, fellas, for a job well done. We couldn’t be more proud.

A new project and a safety award received: TIC looks back on June

June was another banner month for Thomas Industrial Coatings. With the Huey P. Long bridge widening project just finished, we’re showing no signs of slowing down as we move on to the New Mississippi River Bridge being built in our hometown of St. Louis.

Thomas will be providing the surface preparation and coatings application to this new bridge construction project set to help relive local traffic congestion, as well as play a major role in the realignment and reconstruction of Instate 70. Last month saw us getting started in our role as we hoisted our 12,000 pound hydraplatform to the road deck so that we will be able to access the cable anchorage points along both sides of the bridge.

As always, our commitment to safety is a top priority with TIC. Safety Director Todd Cook and Safety Coordinator Andrew Everding have been hard at work performing site safety evaluations to identify any potential safety concerns that might affect our crew on this new project. Of course, that didn’t stop them from taking a short break to enjoy the view from the New Mississippi River Bridge, as you can see in the photo.

And speaking of safety, in June, TIC was honored to have once again been awarded the CREST Top 10 Finisher by the Finishing Contractors Association. This award is given to contractors who show incredible excellence in their dedication to the safety training of their employees. For the second year in a row, we’ve placed among the ten safest companies in the world, and we couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve done to complete such an achievement.

The future is certainly looking bright for Thomas Industrial Coatings. We’ve got a lot more news to share with everyone, so keeping watching this space for further updates, or subscribe to our newsletter to find out more.

Thomas Industrial Coatings proudly announces a fresh website experience

Thomas Industrial Coatings, continuing its commitment to technology, is proud to reveal its newly designed website. Together with St. Louis-based industrial web-marketing agency Gorilla 76, TIC put together a new web experience for longtime customers and new ones alike.
 
The industrial painting company added many exciting improvements to the site, including better navigation, dynamic project galleries and additional information about the services they provide. Additionally, they put a stronger focus on their blog, inviting users in to not only interact with their site but learn from it as well. The website now features mobile-friendly responsive design, making it easy for the millions of tablet and smart phones owners that use their devices daily to discover Thomas Industrial Coatings.
 
“We’re excited to present this new look for our website,” says President Don Thomas. “Embracing technology and the Internet has always played a vital role in how we do business. This is just another step we’re taking in ensuring a bright future for Thomas Industrial Coatings.”
 
In 2012, from January 1 to June 1, the company had 826 visitors access their website from mobile devices. This year, during the same period, they had 1,558 mobile visits.
 
“The primary purpose of this site redesign was to accommodate the growing amount of traffic coming from mobile devices,” said Jason Hinklin-Lauderdale, a writer at Gorilla 76. “While we were accommodating for that, it made a lot of sense to rethink the site as a whole, ensuring that its architecture, design and content reflected the strategy and goals that had been established for the marketing team.”
 
In addition to their website, Thomas Industrial Coatings has an active and growing presence on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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