About

“The customer’s success is the primary business objective at Great Lakes Metal Finishing, Inc. We are committed to processing your product to the highest quality standards, in the shortest possible time.”

Great Lakes Metal Finishing, Inc. was incorporated in June of 1994, specializing in wire goods. We currently service the needs of customers in the tri state area–Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York–and beyond, including but not limited to customers in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mexico. The surface finishes we produce provide corrosion resistance, scratch and wear resistance, electrical insulation, cleanliness, and aesthetic enhancement. Great Lakes Metal Finishing serves the needs of industries including, but not limited to:

• Fasteners
• Lawn and garden
• Military
• Optical industries
• Semiconductor
• Toy

Since 1994, Great Lakes Metal Finishing, Inc. has been owned and operated by its President, Dennis Hartwig. With over thirty five years of metal finishing experience, Mr. Hartwig is still actively involved in all day-to-day operations.

Great Lakes Metal Finishing welcomes new business and encourages you to call us to request an estimate for your next project and/or product. We operate in a 40,000 square foot facility in Erie, PA, where we continue to provide the highest level quality of metal coating, customer service, and environmental compliance.
 

We specialize in:

• Dyeing
  • Red, Green, Blue, & Yellow
• Aluminum Conversion Coating
  • Trivalent Clear Passivate
• Zinc Nickel Alloy Plating
  • Clear Passivate
  • Black Passivate
• Passivation of Stainless Steel
• Pickling
• Baking for Hydrogen Embrittlement and Stress Relief

Governmental Compliant & Environmental Philosophy

Waste Management Philosophy:

Prevention → Recycle → Treatment → Disposal
Our Systems allow for 100% treatment of all waste streams prior to discharge.

At Great Lakes Metal Finishing, we pride ourselves on rigorous quality control, exceptional customer service, and a superior zinc and zinc nickel coating process. Additionally, we are committed to using environmentally friendly plating practices and use a non-cyanide solution in our chromate coating process. By using this eco-friendly alternative to the cyanide solutions used by most other metal finishing companies, we can reduce our environmental impact and keep our water clean!

Licenses & Recognitions

Great Lakes Metal Finishing has been recognized over the years by the city of Erie for its ongoing efforts in waste management as well its high standard of excellence in going above and beyond the standard requirements in the areas of pretreatment and pollution prevention.

Great Lakes Metal Finishing, Inc. continues to strive for excellence in waste management.
Moreover, MacDermid, Inc. has recognized Great Lakes Metal Finishing’s plating capabilities, approving them as a licensee for the application of their new Trivalent Chromates and JS Sealers. This technology, marketed under the trade name Zinklad, has been greenlighted for use by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Audi, Delphi and others.

Zinklad eliminates the use of Hexavalent Chrome and in many cases provides corrosion protection superior to prior processes. Further, all of Great Lakes Metal Finishing’s trivalent chromates are RoHS Compliant.

Our Team

Dennis Hartwig: President
Dave Wachter: General Manager / Sales Manager
Scott Flook: Production Coordinator / System Administrator
Dave Cadwallader: Plant Manager / Operation Manager
Jackie Toy: Quality Control Manager

Quality Assurance

Great Lakes Metal Finishing is proud to be recognized for the quality of its metal finishing and its ability to meet the highest requirements of your industry. Our automatic plating equipment is programmable, providing a higher level of accuracy and dependability in material processing. Brightener chemicals are automatically controlled so that the elements are dispensed precisely for uniform brightness. Daily bath analysis is performed consistently throughout the systems to ensure reliability. Even the cleaning is handled carefully, and involves three distinct processes to ensure consistent results.

No matter what the volume, our staff is committed to your success by supplying commercial or specification finishes. In addition, our on-site laboratory service insures compliance to your specifications through thickness and adhesion testing, extensive chemical bath analysis, and salt spray testing capabilities.