Get ready for the slow paint movement. A Southfield-based start-up has developed a high-end spray paint that emphasizes quality and is aimed at contemporary creatives, such as street art artists, muralists, arts and crafts enthusiasts and do-it-yourselfers.
Plutonium Paint has taken a modified automotive acrylic, designed a new spray can nozzle for it, and is marketing it toward artists demanding higher quality products for their work. The one-year-old company has 40 different colors to choose from and the potential to create many more.
"The colors are much more vibrant and the paint is much heavier," says Barry Fleischer, president of
Plutonium Paint. "You can feel it when you use it. It covers much better."
Fleischer, purchased the intangible assets of an existing paint company that couldn't make the idea work. They redesigned the packaging, the distribution and the spray nozzle to handle the heavier paint. The paint can be applied at 360 degrees due to its unique self-clean valve. The product is entirely made in America and is focused on keeping production in Michigan when possible.
"This is the only high-end, quality paint made in America," Fleischer says.
Plutonium Paint started to ship its initial products in December and is already in some
True Value hardware stores in Michigan, among other local retail locations. The Fleischers hope to have their paints in 500 stores by the end of the year. The company has also grown from its original two co-founders to six employees and a handful of independent contractors today. More hires are expected to come as the product gains traction in the market.
Source: Barry Fleischer, president of Plutonium Paint
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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