A

longtime Tri-City painting company is moving to Richland to build a new home

base for two businesses, Paintmaster Services Inc. and Columbia Industrial

Coatings.

The

companies will share three buildings at 2670 First St. in north Richland, off

Kingsgate Way and north of Horn Rapids Golf Course.

The

buildings will include an office, shop and facility for sandblasting and

coating.

Paintmaster

Services is run by two brothers and has been family-owned since 1990. The

company does commercial and residential painting projects and currently is

located on West Van Giesen Street, just east of Grosscup Boulevard, in West

Richland.

Columbia

Industrial Coatings is housed at the same site and offers services like epoxy,

high-performance and polyurethane coatings and also sandblasting.

“It’s

corrosion protection, for protection of steel in flooring or whatever.

Commercial use is for both protection and beautification,” said Jonathan

Duarte, president of Paintmaster Services and member of Columbia Industrial

Coatings.

The

company will keep its shop in Kennewick for metal fabrication but will otherwise

move services from its rented location to three buildings on the First Street

site, which total about 14,000 square feet of space. The two companies employ

19 people.

The

project is expected to be completed by September.

The

total value of the project, contracted to DGR Grant Construction of Richland,

is just over $1 million.

» Paintmaster Services: 509-588-6421; paintmasterservices.com.

» Columbia Industrial Coatings: 509-579-0444; cicoat.com.