Our History and Facility

We opened our doors as “United Hard Chrome” and have been in the same location for over sixty years. Incorporated in 1957 by original owners Richard Horger and Joe Bango, our company grew quickly, adding services and offerings that resulted in a second business, United Grinding and Machine, in 1963. (United Grinding spun off from USF in 2005.)

Horger and Bango retired in 1982, and UHC was purchased by Robert Horger (Richard Horger’s son) and Greg Wisden (Joe Bango’s son). This began an extended season of expansion. In 1997, we added 8000 square feet to our facility. This allowed for several acquisitions: UHC purchased the sales assets of Precision Hard Chrome and Add A Nickel in 2003 and 2011, respectively, and also acquired the physical assets of a chrome shop in Findlay.

With a name change in 2011, we became United Surface Finishing, and continued to transform. In 2012, we purchased the sales assets of K-Chrome and undertook a significant renovation that allowed us to begin plating pieces up to 27′ and introduced a new and expanded electroless nickel line (with a dedicated aluminum line).

Despite all our successes, USF experienced a setback with a 2015 fire.

While unfortunate and costly, the fire furnished us with an opportunity to think about what we’d do differently in the facility and how we wanted to move into the next season of business. Our rebuild and renovation process allowed us to make several important upgrades:

• We have become even more EPA-compliant, meeting and exceeding their standards, including green technology on all chrome tanks.
• We have become more energy-efficient in the way we heat solutions in our process line, replacing electrical heating with boiler and steam heating.
• We added an extra hard chrome plating tank and bigger nickel tanks (some of the largest in the state) that use newer technology.
• A fire suppression system has been added across the entire facility.
• Larger cranes enable us to plate larger parts.
• Our facility has been reorganized for future growth and expansion.
• We have new offices and a technologically-equipped training center, in which we can conduct workshops and learning seminars.

Our Clients

​Customers from a wide array of industries (see below) choose United Surface Finishing because they desire the benefits of:

• Quick Turn Around: Most jobs take 3-5 days, and our on-time delivery rate exceeds 95%
• 60+ Years of Experience
• Quality Assurance
• Competitive Pricing
• Pick-Up & Delivery by our Dedicated Trucking Staff for Local Clients

Industries Served

Agriculture

Automotive

Chemical Equipment

Dies, Tools, and Jigs

Electric Motors

Extrusion Screws

Fluid Power Engineering

Food Processing Equipment

Industrial Molds

Hydraulics (Hydraulic Applications)

Machine Tools

Mechanical Engineered Products

Mechanical Power transmission Equipment

Metals and Steel

Mining

Oil and Gas

Paper Mills

Polymers and Plastics

Pumps and Pumping Equipment

Plastic Injection Molds

Plastic Product Molds and Equipment

Printing

Rolling and Coil Mill Machinery and Equip

Screw Machine Products

Special Industrial Machinery

Steel Mills

Railroad Equipment

OEM (New and Retrofit)

Paper Products

Metal Forming and Fabrication

Specialty Equipment