Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Joel Curran with his Eco Surface Prep equipment. Curran began Eco Surface Prep in Ritzville about a year ago, and has been living in Ritzville for three years. He's owned about half a dozen businesses over the years, and also worked in law enforcement for about a decade in Rathdrum, Idaho.
Joel Curran moved to Ritzville several years ago for a couple of reasons.
One of them was that he simply enjoys living in small communities like Ritzville-and the low housing cost that comes with it.
The other? Location, location, location.
About a year ago, Curran founded Eco Surface Prep, which provides a mobile dustless blasting service that allows Curran to go to his customers in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, rather than his customers coming to him.
"Located in Ritzville, I'm kind of centrally located," said Curran. "I can whip out to Othello, I can whip out 40 miles to Moses Lake, I can whip out to Tri-Cities an hour away, Cheney's about an hour. So we can service a broader area. I said, OK, let's pick an area where I'm right in the middle, and then we can spread out from there."
Curran came to Ritzville three years ago with a wealth of experience as a business owner, having run about half a dozen businesses throughout his life. He owned an auto parts store for about 20 years, an automotive restoration business that purchased and then restored used rental cars, a picture-framing shop, a company that sold wine and beer-making supplies and equipment, and an art gallery in Calgary, the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Curran also worked in law enforcement, in Rathdrum, Idaho, for about a decade. That 10-year span, Curran said, was the only time he has worked for someone other than himself.
Eco Surface Prep, Curran's latest endeavor, focuses on providing environmentally friendly dustless blasting. To do so, Curran says that Eco Surface Prep doesn't use any of the harmful silicates that are used in sandblasting. Sandblasting also creates plumes of dust that can canvass the surrounding area in sand.
Instead, Eco Surface Prep does wet blasting, which combines water and recycled glass, which Curran says is completely eco-friendly. The company's primary focus is on metal, such as automobiles, trucks, RVs, commercial buildings and industrial equipment, to name a few.
But Eco Surface Prep can also work on wooden products, Curran stressed. Depending on the condition of the wood that's being blasted, the company can do either wet blasting or dry blasting. Common wood-based projects include wooden decks.
"Wood is really delicate, so you've got to be really careful not getting into the grain, not digging into the grain," said Curran.
But sometimes the condition of the wood is not able to withstand being wet blasted. In those cases, Eco Surface Prep will do dry blasting. Curran said that the company uses crushed walnut shells for its dry blasting, which he buys from a company in Spokane. Dry blasting with walnut shells is non-toxic and does not pose any health or environmental hazards, and is good for helping with paint removal.
A recent project that Curran worked on was for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Connell. For that project, Curran dry blasted the paint off of a 15,000-20,000 sq. foot concrete building. Nutrien Ag Solutions wanted to re-paint the building, and the paint--which had been on the building since the 1920s or 1930s and had about five layers to it--was chipping.
Curran says that Eco Surface Prep is price conscientious and convenient for customers. He also said that they are conscientious about preventing unintended consequences, such as when work is being done on vehicles.
"The product is pretty quick acting," said Curran, who cited a recent project on a man's 1998 Dodge pickup. "We tape off all the chrome and tape off all the glass, because if you don't that glass will create a profile into the glass and ruin it. We gorilla tape and make sure that there's no damage to the chrome or anything like that."
At the end of the day, Curran wants people to know that he will treat his customers fairly and make sure that they're satisfied when the project is done. If they're not, he said he'll do anything he can to make it right.
"We always have a very open, blunt conversation with a customer beforehand, saying 'OK, this is what you can expect, alright? Here's the problems that might be encountered,'" Curran said.
Curran also said that he's willing to do small blasting jobs in Ritzville, such as on wheels for people who are restoring a car.
Pricing is dependent on the scope and size of the job, Curran said. For vehicles, the pricing depends on the size of the vehicle.
Eco Surface Prep is flexible when it comes to payments, and Curran said that he's even open to trading and bartering. He recently had someone who offered to trade deer heads in exchange for a job.
Curran is also comfortable setting up payment plans with customers, citing a recent project where the customer said they could only afford to pay $100 once every two weeks. The customer hasn't missed a payment yet, Curran said.
For more information on the types of services provided or to receive a quote on a potential project, visit ecosurfaceprep.com. Curran can also be contacted at (509) 350-9973.
"I'm one of those guys where I'm big on handshake deals," said Curran. "I'm willing to deal with people. I'm small-town. I love bartering, and although I prefer getting paid cash, there are people that just literally have got a project, they want it done and they're just limited in funds. But if they can provide a way to pay for it over a period of two, three, four months, I'm willing to work with them."
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