A high-tech paint investment pays off

With residential construction in the doldrums, paint manufacturers face a dreary summer. Yet Mel Sauder’s outlook is bright. In the past two years the annual revenue for his 30-employee company, MicroBlend Technologies, has grown from $1.5 million to $3.5 million. He expects to hit $5 million that year, thanks to the increasing popularity of the company’s Automated Paint Machine — APM for short — which sells for $100,000 and up and mixes six liquid components into any grade, finish and color, saving retailers the hassle of stocking hundreds of different cans. The APM’s built-in software measures and tints paint by weight, not volume; devotees say it delivers very consistent color.

Original post by Technology news - Business 2.0 Magazine