Background

A Class Plating is located in Lonsdale, South Australia, it is a metal finishing supplier to many of Australia’s manufacturers.

Originally established as A Class Metal Finishers in 1989 as a family partnership, A Class quickly developed a reputation for producing high quality surface finishes through the extensive industry (plating & polishing) knowledge and experience of the Wood brothers. From a single 300 square metre factory workshop in 1989, A Class grew through several expansions to become probably the largest/most diverse metal finishing shop in Australia.

The next generation & who we are now…

At the end of July 2024, 2 of the then 3 buildings, along with the plating equipment of A Class Metal Finishers were purchased by Ian Thomas, with the new entity becoming A Class Plating.

We are also very pleased to say that the relevant business section staff continued with us in the new entity.

Our primary focus is on offering quality electroplating and metal polishing services.

Ian believes steadfastly in sovereign manufacturing capability and our family have extensive experience in South Australia’s manufacturing industries. Our production facility in Lonsdale has a strong 35-year history, and we are building upon it for the national interest.

Almost 2 years on, we have invested heavily in rejuvenating the plant & equipment. It is a massive undertaking and not one for the faint of heart, but it is an important one for retaining our sovereign capability.

For clarity, particularly for the restoration market…

A Class Metal Finishers Pty Ltd and All Class Metal Finishing Pty Ltd are separate entities to our business. If you have a restoration job with them we will often not be involved across the whole process as they are customers of our plating services. The work may go through our plating lines when it is at those appropriate stages of restoration but we won’t know who it is for. The main point of this being that if you have placed a restoration order with them it is best to contact them in relation to the status of your job.

‘Problems’ we solve for our customers

Make metal surfaces look good (e.g. shiny, matte, clear of bumps or scratches, a particular colour, or just clean)

Remove or prevent corrosion (to greater or lesser degrees, depending on the need)

Restore surface even-ness (minor resurfacing work)

Build up the surface (e.g. where wear has occurred)

Protect a surface from wear (resist wear)

Increase hardness of a surface (often for industrial purposes)

Apply ‘precise’ coating thicknesses when tolerances matter (We can work in microns of thickness. A micron is 0.001mm; one-thousandth, of a millimetre.)

Create better surface conductivity (e.g. enhance performance, or reduce interference, in electrical or radio frequency conduction)

Industry Knowledge

The metal finishing industry has greatly diminished in size since the auto industry ‘designed out’ many chrome parts and accessories. This part of the metal finishing industry has thus become relatively small. Despite this challenge, A Class has managed to attract or develop a high level of industry knowledge and expertise and grown the company out of this knowledge (whilst some operators have faded away). We do have challenges developing and retaining such specialised industry skills and knowledge; however A Class works proactively to identify alternatives for the future. Our skills and knowledge focus have earned us a reputation as metal finishing industry experts.

Process Technology Applicators!

A Class is NOT a developer of proprietary plating technology (the chemical companies are best at that). We are, however, very good at adapting our surface treatment technologies, capabilities and processes to meet a specific customer requirement. The information provided in each “process” related page of this website provides insight to the uses and benefits of various metal finishing processes. A Class is also able to develop capabilities in new processes or technologies to suit your needs if there is a business case for it.

Quality

Satisfying our customer needs for quality in both service and production are our primary aims.

Our MRP system underpins our quality control procedures, making it easier to track, control and prioritise the many customer jobs travelling through our plating, polishing and other treatment plants, thus ensuring timely delivery of jobs and customer confidence in our systems.

Other Company Features

– We supply many industries, including Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering, Electronics, Defence, Aerospace and Mining.

– Plating to mil-spec or other specifications is available on request (subject to capacity or spec).

– A Class has been recognised as an innovative company and earned recognition in several business awards.