Celebrating 10 Years: Small Town Coatings
From Metal Art to a Thriving Family Business — 10 Years of Small Town Coatings
Some businesses begin with a detailed business plan. Others grow from learning a skill, seeing a need, and being willing to take a chance.
For Tracy and Crystal Suggs, the story of Small Town Coatings started long before there was a Small Town Coatings.
Years ago, Tracy and Crystal were creating metal art, using a plasma cutter to turn designs into custom pieces. As their skills grew, so did their creativity. They wanted to add color and durable finishes to their work, which led them to begin learning the process of powder coating.
Then something started happening. People weren’t just interested in the metal art—they began asking if Tracy and Crystal could powder coat other things for them.
One request led to another. What started as a new skill became a new opportunity, and in 2016, Small Town Coatings was born.
From a Small Shop to Something Much Bigger
Over the next 10 years, Small Town Coatings grew well beyond those early projects.
Today, the Galivants Ferry business is equipped for high-volume industrial powder coating, with the equipment and processes to handle hundreds to thousands of parts while maintaining consistent finishes and turnaround times.
Their capabilities have grown to include an oven that allows the team to accommodate pieces up to 30 feet long.
But even with that growth, they haven’t forgotten the smaller jobs or the people who helped build their business.
Small Town Coatings can handle large-scale industrial production, but they’re still the hometown shop where someone can bring in Grandma’s old wrought-iron patio furniture and have it restored with a fresh, durable finish.
From a piece that holds generations of family memories to a major industrial order, both have a place in their shop.
And Then Came the Next Generation
Perhaps one of the most meaningful parts of the Small Town Coatings story is that it has truly become a family business.
Tracy and Crystal’s son, Colby Suggs, grew up watching his parents build the company. After graduating from high school in 2022, Colby joined the Small Town Coatings team.
His parents took him under their wing and began teaching him the business—from the work that happens on the shop floor to the knowledge and attention to detail that had taken them years to develop.
Little by little, Colby learned the trade and took on more responsibility.
Today, just four years after graduating high school, Colby runs the shop.
For Traci and Crystal, watching the business they started become something their son can now help lead adds another chapter to an already special 10-year story.
They didn’t simply build a successful business. They built something they could teach, share, and pass along to the next generation.
Still Growing Right Here at Home
Small Town Coatings has expanded its services over the years to include powder coating, sandblasting, mobile sandblasting, mobile thermo coating, and pick-up and delivery services.
They’ve invested in equipment and technology that allows them to accurately measure coating thickness and color, helping provide the consistency their commercial and industrial customers depend on.
Their customers may have gotten bigger. Their equipment certainly has. Their capabilities have expanded.
But their roots haven’t moved.
They’re still a family business growing right here in Galivants Ferry.
10 Years — and a New Generation
The Aynor Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to recognize Small Town Coatings on 10 years in business and congratulate Tracy, Crystal, Colby, and the entire Small Town Coatings team on this milestone.
Their story is one of those great small-town business stories: start with what you know, learn what you don’t, work hard, grow when the opportunity comes—and teach the next generation everything you learned along the way.
From creating metal art, to learning how to powder coat, to building an industrial operation capable of handling 30-foot projects, Small Town Coatings has come a long way in 10 years.
And now, with Colby helping carry the business forward, the next chapter is already being written.
Congratulations to the Suggs family and Small Town Coatings on 10 years in business! 🎉
📍 2330 Bud Graham Rd.
Galivants Ferry, SC 29544
📞 843-358-7844
www.smalltowncoatings.com/
