Est. 1996 — Denver, NC

About Calico

The Power of Combined Surface Engineering Expertise. A joint venture with HEF North America, bringing 29 years of coating science to the most demanding performance applications on earth.

For 29 years, Calico Coatings has been a trusted leader in high-performance coating technology — established with the mission to develop coatings for extreme conditions, serving industries where failure is never an option.

Calico Coatings — Denver, North Carolina
Our Story

Calico Coatings: A Joint Venture With HEF North America

Calico Coatings was founded by Tracy Trotter with a singular mission: develop coatings engineered for extreme conditions. What started as a two-person operation has grown into a 50-person team running three shifts inside a 30,000+ sq. ft. facility in Denver, North Carolina.

Today, Calico operates as a joint venture with HEF North America (HEF NA), combining decades of domestic coating expertise with the global resources and scientific depth of one of the world's foremost surface engineering groups.

This partnership gives Calico's customers access to proprietary CERTESS® coating technologies, advanced tribology testing, and cross-industry R&D capabilities that no standalone coatings shop can match.

29
Years in Operation
50
Team Members
3
Production Shifts
30K+
Square Foot Facility
Global Partnership

HEF Group

HEF Group, headquartered in France, has operated for over 50 years as a global leader in surface treatment technology. With operations across more than 20 countries, HEF provides nitriding services, engineered bushings, tribology testing, photonics research, and advanced thin-film coating technologies.

HEF North America serves as the North American arm of HEF Group, and Calico Coatings' joint venture relationship grants customers direct access to this global network of surface engineering expertise — from R&D partnerships to proprietary CERTESS® coating formulations developed in HEF's international labs.

50+
Years of HEF Group Experience
20+
Countries of Operation
CERTESS®
Proprietary Coating Platform
IREIS
Research & Innovation Center
Market Reach
Industries We Serve
Automotive Motorsports Aerospace Military & Defense Diesel & Construction Molds & Dies Medical Devices Nuclear & Energy
Women in Manufacturing

Leadership That Looks Like the World

Calico has long been a place where women lead. With 19 women on the team — including 5 in leadership positions — we're proud to be a different kind of manufacturing company. Our General Manager, Jennifer Jenkins, has helped shape the company's vision for decades.

We actively partner with programs that introduce young women to STEM and manufacturing careers, because we know that the talent pipeline for the next generation of engineers starts with showing them what's possible.

Jennifer Jenkins, General Manager of Calico Coatings
Environmental Stewardship

Performance Without Compromise

Calico earned an EcoVadis Committed Rating — placing us in the top 25% of more than 100,000 companies assessed worldwide for sustainability practices. That recognition isn't a goal achieved; it's a baseline we intend to exceed.

Our coatings reduce friction and wear — and a secondary benefit is real: lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions across every application we serve. The same science that wins on the track is quietly making the world run a little cleaner. We see environmental responsibility not as a regulatory checkbox, but as a natural extension of the precision and care we bring to everything.

Committed
EcoVadis Rating
Top 25%
Sustainability Ranking
Work With Us

Ready to Engineer Better Performance?

Let's explore how Calico's advanced coating technologies can improve performance, durability, and product value.

704.483.2202
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