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Industrial Finishes

Craftsmanship Chronicles

At Marathon, we take paint seriously. Whether designing a brand new motorcoach or reinventing a well loved family coach, we consider every Marathon a mobile piece of art. With the right tools and thousands of different paint colors to choose from, our talented team of experienced artists and craftspeople find the creative possibilities endless! That’s why, when it comes to paint materials, sandpaper, masking paper and masking tape to polishing compounds, paint guns, sanders, heat lamps and more, we choose Industrial Finishes.

Stuart Barr got his start as a delivery driver with the Autobody and Paint Supply Company in Eugene, Oregon, back in 1956. By 1958, he and a partner decided to purchase the company. In 1967, Barr became sole owner, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now serving 42 states with his 23 locations, this savvy businessman has an eye for innovation. In the late 1960s, Barr developed a spray system for plywood creation, not only replacing the more cumbersome glue-to-veneer application with roll coaters, but also significantly reducing the amount of glue used, while vastly improving product quality. Talk about an efficiency win. Industrial Finishes continues to develop solutions for a cleaner, safer and more eco-friendly world.

If fact, Industrial Finishes is so serious about the environment, they were even invited to Washington D.C. to visit with the EPA. Here at Marathon, we too are always on the lookout for new ways to be green, which is why we purchase the latest SATA high-volume, low-pressure spray guns from them; this allows us to transfer more paint to the coach with less overspray in the air, thus reducing our carbon footprint in the paint department. We also recycle our leftover paints and solvents, and generate our own paint thinner.

Although Industrial Finishes is in the forefront of the recreational vehicle industry, they don’t stop there. With a foothold in automotive, industrial and commercial coatings, aerospace, military, marine, furniture, agricultural and more, they’ve built a business on helping others be more efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly. Now that’s a legacy to be proud of.

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