Companies that are enjoying high growth have difficulty meeting the increased production demand; a) their currently manual finishing process has limited growth potential, b) The problem cannot resolved by hiring more people since there is a critical shortage of qualified personnel.

Because of the factors noted above, the obvious solution is to consider automating the finishing process. Automation promises to resolve both the barriers noted above. A well planned flatline dramatically increases production capacity with assurance of consistent quality.

With a realistic growth plan the solution may well appear that a semi-automatic “work cell” is the best immediate solution and does not require the high investment or installation delay that is involved with a large high speed flatline. There are other cases of course, where the user already has automated, but the line is inadequate or technology is too old to meet the demand of higher productivity or new finishing processes.

In either case, the company usually starts the search by calling in machinery vendors to get layout drawings and potential costs. This assumes you already know who to call and have some idea of their experience and capabilities. Even if you choose wisely, odds are that you will only get information on the machines supplied by that particular vendor. typically, other major components such as coatings, guns and pumps, sanders, and plant services (compressed air, oven heat, dust extraction, air make up) all require  additional information from vendors of those components to get you to a closer cost estimate of the project.

My primary responsibility for the last 20 years has been to design flatlines of all sizes, speed, and application methods. I also have the experience to advise on other components as mentioned above. It is best and by far, the easiest, way to initiate a finishing automation plan. I do not sell or recommend any brands of machinery or chemicals, but I will recommend more than one vendor of each component that I know is experienced and qualified to meet your expectations.
A new finishing line is usually expected to be useful for 20+ years and will most certainly be a high capital investment. It is best practice to develop a basic design and budget prior to calling calling vendors.  A pre-planned finishing system will certainly save considerable time, confusion, and money.