About Us
Thermech is a trusted provider of advanced coatings and engineered plastics, serving customers in mission-critical environments.
Our Coating Expertise
In coatings, the company specializes in fluoropolymer technologies prized for their exceptional chemical resistance, low-friction performance, and non-stick properties. PTFE, widely known by the brand name Teflon, is the most recognized of these materials, and Thermech applies it alongside a broad portfolio of other fluoropolymer coatings tailored to specific performance requirements.
Building on decades of expertise, Thermech has developed proprietary fluoropolymer coatings designed to meet demanding customer needs, including applications supporting the U.S. Space Program. While the company continues to serve aerospace and defense customers, it has expanded its reach into precision coatings for medical applications.
To support this growth, Thermech has invested in automation to increase capacity without compromising quality and has expanded its capabilities through strategic acquisitions.
Through the acquisition of Interlayer, Thermech added vapor deposition processes that enable advanced nano-coatings. With the Stainless MicroPolish acquisition, the company broadened its service offering to include polishing, passivation, deburring, and ultra-cleaning of stainless-steel tubes with tight tolerances and small diameters.
Our Engineered Plastics Experience
In engineered plastics, Thermech excels in compression molding and precision machining. Starting with raw fluoropolymer powders, the company formulates proprietary blends, molds and compresses them into blocks or rods, and machines them into finished parts designed to perform in harsh, high-stakes environments. These components are used across aerospace, medical, chemical, and other industrial applications, with common products including O-rings, bearing separators, and valve balls.
More recently, the acquisition of Boudreaux Machining strengthened Thermech’s precision plastic machining capabilities with CNC machines to increase the in-house engineered plastics services offered.
Perfecting Surfaces since 1949
History
Thermech's rich history
Thermech began in 1949 when a confident salesman named Charles “Rip” Ripley and a mechanically savvy partner named Ray Hansel founded Imperial Coatings in Downey, California and became the exclusive provider of Platon (liquid neoprene) in the Southwest. Imperial Coatings sprayed Platon onto World War II ships to preserve them from the corrosive effects of salt water. With permission from the military, DuPont declassified polytetrafluoroethelyne (PTFE, later branded as Teflon™) and developed PTFE-based coatings that effectively resist corrosion and high temperatures. Imperial Coatings developed commercial markets for PTFE coatings.
1950's - Scaling and Technical Focus
In 1957, the company moved to its current facility in Anaheim, California. At the same time, two key investors joined: Richard “Dick” Harris, a chemical engineer, and Jack Walker, a mechanical engineer with strong military sales experience.
The company renamed itself Thermech Engineering Corporation to reflect the benefits of PTFE (THERmal, MEchanical, and CHemical resistance). Under Harris’s leadership, Thermech developed several proprietary high-performance coatings, some of which NASA still uses today.
Thermech also expanded into fluoropolymer processing. The team worked directly with raw materials, developed ram extrusion capabilities, and advanced its molding and machining processes.
At first, the company concentrated on high-volume items such as Teflon Backup Rings. Over time, it began selling seals and O-rings to chemical companies and to the military for aerospace applications.
1960's - Contributing to the Space Race
In the 1960s, Thermech joined America in the Space Race, and the company began producing cryogenic aerospace seals, which require extreme precision and reliability.
Thermech used specialty fluoroplastics such as KEL-F and PTFE-based materials to manufacture seals for liquid hydrogen and oxygen systems on Saturn rocket boosters. In addition, the company also supplied components for Apollo missions, including parts used in main propulsion systems.
Engineers used Thermech’s proprietary material, TEC-Fluorfil BF1, to produce critical seals for the Apollo capsule’s propulsion system. These seals helped ensure safe operation during missions to the moon.
1970's - Growing within Defense and into Commercial Industries
In the 1970s, the U.S. Air Force selected Thermech to support advanced aircraft programs, including work that contributed to the Stealth Bomber.
At the same time, Thermech expanded into commercial markets. The company applied its coating expertise to equipment such as videotape manufacturing machines and food service products like pizza-warming plates.
1980's - Innovating Precision Coatings
In the 1980s, Thermech continued to develop products used by the aerospace industry and broadened its offerings to the Department of Defense to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force which expanding is customer base to include customers such as Boeing, Lockheed, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon, and others. These companies are still customers of Thermech today.
1990's - Using Precision Coatings in Other Industries
In the 1990’s Thermech diversified its offerings and started focusing on the medical applications. Thermech developed a unique method to coat the inside of narrow tubes. This breakthrough earned Thermech the award of Most Valuable Contributor in 1994 and Most Valuable Supplier in 1995 to Abbott Labs. These products are still in use today through Beckman Coulter.
Thermech also became part of the Symbex Companies in 1993.
2000's - Supporting the U.S. Defense Industry
During this decade, Thermech refocused its strategy on critical quality parts for the Department of Defense and many of the aerospace companies as the U.S. focused on rebuilding its aging military resources. Thermech increased its emphasis on quality standards and became certified by nearly every major aerospace company. At one time we worked so closely with Boeing that members of the Thermech team were inadvertently added to the Boeing employee directory.
2010's - Expanding Medical Device Coatings and Increasing Automation
In 2014, Thermech expanded further into the medical device industry, coating surgical instruments and components.
As demand grew, the company invested heavily in automation. Starting in 2017, Thermech automated many liquid coating and surface preparation processes. These improvements reduced costs while maintaining consistent, high-quality output.
2020's - Advancing Medical Capabilities
In the 2020s, Thermech expanded its coating and engineering plastics capabilities through targeted acquisitions by the Symbex companies:
2024: Symbex acquired Stainless MicroPolish, adding expertise in precision polishing, passivation, deburring, and ultra-cleaning of stainless steel components. Used for narrow tubes in the medical industry such as cannulas, guidewires, and braided tubes
2025: The acquisition of Interlayer introduced plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), enabling ultra-thin, high-performance coatings with properties such as lubricity and nonstick behavior, but without the same PFAS concerns of the fluoropolymer products
2026: The acquisition of Boudreaux Machining strengthened Thermech’s capabilities in engineering plastics and precision machining.