July 26, 2024

Co-workers with a mutual interest in cars have gone into business together.

Tyler McCallon and Thomas Baker, both of Sioux Falls, opened The Powder Haus on West Tickman Street this spring.

The business applies durable and long-lasting powder coatings to metal objects that range from race car frames to vintage mailboxes.

“It’s like painting, but a thicker coat painting with powder,” McCallon said. “It’s a whole different electro magnetically charged powder that sticks to a metal surface, and you have to bake it in the oven.”

McCallon and Baker met through their full-time jobs at a car dealership. McCallon is a mechanic, and Baker is his manager. They started going out for lunch to talk about their mutual interest in cars and learned they both had the goal of going into business for themselves someday.

Offering a powder-coating service will meet a need in Sioux Falls, McCallon said, since it isn’t widely offered.

“It’s a more durable material, so it’s harder to chip,” said McCallon, a Sioux Falls native. Baker moved here from California. “It’s a lot more wear resistant and protective.”

The Powder Haus has applied powder coating to objects as diverse as a mail chute on a historic house, the spindles on a deck railing, gun slides and the interior of a car.

McCallon said people involved in the racing community like to have the frames of their sprint cars or four-wheelers powder-coated so it will last longer.

“Mechanical cars and dirt bikes will hopefully be most of our services, but we can do anything metal,” he said. “We were just asked to do a little metal bench.”

Powder-coating comes in matte, high gloss, satin, candy, texture and metallic finishes. “And we can do it like any color,” McCallon said. “There’s like a million colors you can do.”

Baker came up with the business’ name. He is a fan of German cars, and “haus” means “house” in that language.

Both men now work part-time at The Powder Haus, but their plan is to expand the business to provide full-time employment. The Powder Haus has a web page and also is on Facebook and Instagram.

“We’re a small shop, but we do good work,” McCallon said, adding that he and Baker take painstaking care when working on projects.