Northwest Aerospace News June | July 2019 Issue No. 9 | Page 36

Outside In
When Stewart took the helm at Color
Craft, the company was focused
exclusively on the exterior of the
airplane: tail numbers, American
flags and airline livery. Under his
leadership, the company has shifted
so that now the majority of its work is
on display inside the cabin and other
interior surfaces, such as the cockpit,
cargo bays and landing gear stowage.
“The exterior work is still a lot of fun,
and it accounts for about 40 percent
of our aviation business at this point,”
he said. “When it comes to doing a
big, splashy graphic, the customer
will typically bring us a design, and
the whole process is being driven by
the marketing department. Typically,
we need to do some gentle education
with those folks about how long
something might take or what it
might cost, but our team loves those
projects.”
The realities of the operating
environment also influence the design
on these exterior projects.
“If they want to put a big graphic
right on the nose of the plane, for
example, you can’t use a decal
because it will get shredded by wind
shear.”
The work inside the airplane is less
creative, but vital for aviation safety
and the comfort of the passengers.
“The business decision to switch
our emphasis from the outside of
the airplane to the inside was easy,
because there is way more potential
product for us on the inside of the
aircraft,” said Stewart. “The next time
you board a commercial flight, take a
look at all the little signs and decals
and placards — they are everywhere.
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For every 737 coming out of the Boeing plant here in Seattle, we do the seat row
markers, engraved ID plates, cockpit and cargo bay panels, and more. With the
addition of Eclipse Technical Graphics, the company is now positioned to offer a
broader range of human user interface solutions such as the flight attendant call
button above your seat. It uses a membrane switch, and we make those, too. It’s
phenomenal how much printing and specialized graphics goes on inside an aircraft.”
The rugged demands of aerospace prepared Color Craft to serve the 20 percent of
its business that comes from outside the aviation industry.
“Most of those customers are building heavy-duty industrial equipment that
operates in harsh environments,” Stewart explained. “Let’s face it — if you’re
selling a one million dollar piece of hardware, you don’t want a decal showing your
brand name to start peeling off on day two.”
NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS