From Garage to Industrial Facility: Kool Koatings Enjoys the Bay of Quinte Advantage
September 22, 2026
Toronto would be a lot more expensive than Belleville. Bryan Cribbett, CEO of Kool Koatings
Kool Koatings began its operations in 2013, providing hydrographic (transferring a design to a three-dimensional surface) services. They quickly grew to add polymer ceramic coating to their suite of services. Kool Koatings staff were still working out of a garage when they got a large job applying hydrographics to the interior of a Boeing jet – the jet belonged to the King of Thailand!
For this large job, Kool Koatings needed hundreds of new parts for hydrographic application. They also got more jet-interior jobs, and so they moved part of their operation to a bigger facility, which they promptly outgrew. Recently, they brought their entire operation – production and administration – together under one roof in Belleville. The facility is large enough to house their 12-foot bake oven – needed to apply powder coating to parts of that length – a 30-foot spray booth, and capacity for high-batch volume of smaller parts. The facility also has a shipping dock, making shipping and receiving easier. Kool Koatings now services clients across Canada from coast to coast.
Kool Koatings can produce more than 30,000 parts per month with a small number of employees working one shift, and they can do it in a relatively small space. They use a unique, state-of-the-art work system design that includes an inspection of 100% of all the processed parts in each phase of production.
Throughout Kool Koatings’ journey of growth, the Bay of Quinte advantage – lower costs on facilities, lower taxes, proximity to the major artery that is Highway 401 – has served them well. Also key to their growth was the economic development help they received from local fixtures like:
- Quinte Economic Development Commission (QEDC),
- Trenval Business Development Corporation, and
- Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
Part of a Thriving Service Industry in Bay of Quinte
Manufacturers and industries in the region don’t have to travel very far when their product needs hydrographic printing or coating. Kool Koatings’ coatings can be hydrophobic if needed, which means that water, oil, and grease won’t stick. Coated products are therefore easy to clean, need less maintenance, and have a longer life cycle.
The company has all the relevant certifications and plenty of experience. They apply their hydrographic and coating services to everything from high-end office buildings in the U.S. to tiny rifle optics close to home. They also make metal signs, custom fire pits, and lawn decorations using high-definition plasma cutting.
Kool Koatings has a variety of coatings depending on the need, whether it’s for heat resistance or electrical insulation. Their Cerakote product is the cheaper, cleaner, and faster alternative to CARC (chemical agent resistant coating). Traditional CARC is toxic and requires days and weeks for throughput. Cerakote is handled without special equipment, and the throughput can be counted in minutes or hours. A product like that can save manufacturers millions per year with increased life cycle alone.
“The Quinte area is actually in a very unique hub for centralized manufacturing”
Kool Koatings is minutes away from the main transportation artery between Montreal and Toronto and beyond: Highway 401. One aspect of their business involves items that are travelling from one big city to another. It’s easy for trucks from, for example, the Port of Montreal to get to Kool Koatings. The staff can do the coating job on the product, and it can then be on its way.
Housing prices as well as facility costs are lower in Bay of Quinte than in big cities. Bryan Cribbett, CEO of Kool Koatings, noting that many businesses rely on word of mouth, points to QEDC and Trenval as places that provide opportunities to connect. Bryan also names BDC as especially supportive of small- and medium-sized Enterprises.
Learn more about how organizations like the Quinte Economic Development Commission (QEDC) support businesses like Kool Koatings in Bay of Quinte.
