Employee at Premier Powder Coating & Custom Fabrication preparing the fiber optic laser cutter for a job. See how it works in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
REXBURG
Rexburg metal shop loves serving customers after 20 years of operation
REXBURG – As Leo Castagno reflects on what sets his business apart from competitors, he pauses and holds back tears as he points to his employees.
“We’re different because we have Preston, Aubrey and we have Jeff and all the collective creativity. That’s what separates us from everywhere else,” Castagno says.
The 67-year-old Hibbard man and his wife, Becky, are the owners of Premier Powder Coating & Custom Fabrication at 115 North 2nd West in Rexburg. The business, which designs, manufactures and powder coats (dry paint that cures metal after it’s cut and gives it a smooth texture) just about any metallic product, will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025.
The company has clients all over the country, one of which is Myron Mixon, a five-time world champion barbecuer. Mixon owns a barbecue cooking school in Georgia, and Castagno and his team are making embroidered charcoal lighters with his logo and image on the front.
Another recent product creation is a raptor cover, which is designed to keep birds out of toilet vaults.
Each item is made using the company’s new fiber optic laser cutter. See how it works in the video above.
“We solve problems,” Leo tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We try to make products better … and improve it. A lot of people have the same machines we do, but we’re different because we have the creativity and the people to do it.”
Staying in business for 20 years is an impressive feat to him, considering how it began.
He once taught a welding course at Brigham Young University-Idaho. In 2005, he learned the school was dropping the program. Around the same time, he designed a lift system for his friend who worked for an electrical company in Heber City, Utah.
“I made it in my home shop and went and installed it. He said, ‘That’s the neatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.’ I came home, and two days later, he sent a check to make two more,” Leo recalls.
He went to work on the order and was informed he was being let go by the university. That’s when he noticed the building on 2nd West was for sale. It had been there so long, weeds had grown around it, Leo says, and people had forgotten it. He bought the building and started the custom fabrication business.
“I got a partner. We wanted to get the longest, most miserable name you could think of,” Leo jokes about the name of his business. “We started, brought all my tools and equipment here. I took all of my money out of my own account, put it in Premier Powder Coating and started paying my wage out of my own savings.”
He did the same thing for the three or four employees he had at the time. An SBA loan paid for the company’s first laser cutter.
Twenty years later, Leo’s more than replenished his savings account and has paid off the loan. The Castagnos now have 35 employees, who they say are like family.
“We have employees who have been here for a long time,” Becky says. “You spend eight hours a day with these people, and you become a family. They’re really what makes it work.”
The company recently upgraded its laser cutter — the company’s fourth in the last 20 years. Laser engineer Preston Barton says the new fiber optic laser cutter requires less maintenance and is much faster than previous models.
The Castagnos have considered retiring if the right offer to buy the business came along, but they still enjoy running it together and serving customers. They plan to keep doing it for as long as they can.
“A supportive wife, great employees and great customers — that’s what makes us successful,” Leo says.
BIZ BITS
Goldenwest Credit Union expands into Idaho Falls
IDAHO FALLS – Goldenwest Credit Union is excited to announce the grand opening of its newest full-service branch at 525 West Sunnyside Road in Idaho Falls.
This is the fifth branch in Idaho and the first in Idaho Falls.
The ribbon cutting celebration on October 16 was attended by local leaders, including Idaho Falls City Councilwoman Michelle Ziel-Dingman and several business leaders from the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce. Goldenwest Chairman Dan Musgrave and Director Steve Carroll were also present to show their support.
Klee Rose will lead the new branch as the manager, overseeing daily operations and member services.
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