Our spaces wouldn’t be the same without painting contractors. We’d be stuck looking at drab, unfinished services in all the buildings where we work, shop, eat, and play. Painting contractors apply the finishing touches in almost every construction project.
This article covers the ins and outs of the commercial painting industry, including the industry outlook, the largest and fastest-growing painting contractors, and common traits of contractors leading the commercial painting industry.
Commercial Painting Industry Overview and Outlook
People often view painting as a DIY project, but commercial painting contractors do a lot more than paint walls. Their services typically include:
- Preparation: sanding, sandblasting, power washing, priming, and coating
- Application: interior and exterior painting, industrial spray painting, and epoxy floor coating
- Protection: waterproofing, roof coatings, and concrete ceiling repair
- Maintenance: ceiling repair, resurfacing, and maintain the general aesthetics of finished surfaces
Commercial painters work with all types of surfaces like wood, brick, concrete, marble, metal, reinforced plastic, etc. Their work isn’t limited to buildings. Think bridges, damn, shipyards, and other outdoor structures.
IBIS World says the painting industry is a $41 billion market, with commercial and industrial contractors making up roughly 40%. When the construction industry plummeted in 2020, painting contractors weathered it well, primarily because they already used personal protective equipment, respirators, and ventilated workspaces. And the future outlook is promising, driven in part by recent infrastructure legislation which will result in billions of dollars in federally funded projects over the next decade.
As for competition, there are 252K painting businesses, employing 419K people. According to the BBB, the industry can expect another 4,600 companies and 8,000 new employees by 2027.
Top 20 Painting Companies According to ENR
Despite the number of painting companies, there aren’t many commercial painting contractors with a large national footprint. Most are small local businesses. In fact, 75% of painting contractors have four or fewer people, and 88% of the industry’s revenue comes from companies with less than a dozen employees.
You can typically find several sources of top contractors in most market segments. There’s only one reputable list of top painting contractors—ENR’s Top 20 Painting Companies, part of its annual Top 600 Specialty Contractors list.
6 Fastest Growing Commercial Painting Contractors
A handful of contractors on this list grabbed our attention with their impressive growth rates. We work with hundreds of commercial trade contractors striving to grow their businesses, so we always applaud noteworthy growth revenue gains when we see them.
These six commercial painting contractors generated over $50 million in annual revenue and experienced above 20% growth rates between 2022 and 2023.
1. Avalotis Corp.
Headquarters: Pittsburgh, PA
Company Size: 201-500 employees
Revenue: $69.3 million
YOY Growth Rate: 50%
Avalotis Corp. is a leading industrial painting provider serving the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean. It offers an extensive service line, including surface preparation, specialty coatings and linings, concrete flooring, sheeting, scaffolding, and insulation. Avolitis’s portfolio spans power facilities, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, chemical and petrochemical plants, bridges, sports facilities, and historic preservation.
Established in 1965, this family-owned and operated contractor places a major emphasis on culture, safety, and exceeding client expectations. A few of its more notable projects are Pittsburgh’s Birmingham Bridge, Philadelphia’s Shipyard, and Chicago’s Metro Station
Learn more on Avalotis’s website.
2. Hartman Walsh Industrial Services
Headquarters: St. Louis, MO
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Revenue: $92.3 million
YOY Growth Rate: 48%
Hartman Walsh Industrial Services is a union contractor that provides industrial coatings, linings, and high-pressure cleaning services. It’s known for specialty services like lead abatement, fireproofing, abrasive blasting, paint removal, corrosion control, steel preservation, and green roof coatings. Industries include damns, water and wastewater, conventional power, hydropower, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and transportation.
Lowell Hartman and Marty Walsh started Hartman Walsh in 1950. The firm has built its reputation based on professionalism and fair business dealings. Marquee projects include the Big Bend Dam, Central Arizona Project, and Blue Grass Army Depot.
Learn more on Hartman Walsh’s website.
3. Viking Industrial Painting
Headquarters: Omaha, NE
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Revenue: $50 million
YOY Growth Rate: 35%
Viking Industrial Painting, a.k.a. V.I.P., is the premier water tank painting company in the Midwest. This specialty painting contractor has built its business by preserving and enhancing essential water infrastructures. Services include tank cleaning and inspection, tank painting and repairs, and comprehensive tank maintenance programs.
Founded in 2001. V.I.P. lives by the motto, “Do the right thing, always.” Its rapid growth has also landed it on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company list. You can see VIPs work on water tower projects across Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, and Indiana.
Learn more on V.I.P.’s website.
4. VPI
Headquarters: Sacramento, CA
Company Size: 201-500 employees
Revenue: $52.8 million
YOY Growth Rate: 25%
VPI is a family-owned union contractor with offices in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Los Angeles. It specializes in end-to-end commercial, institutional, and specialty painting and wall-covering services, covering everything from small commercial buildings to large arenas.
Husband and wife team, Gino Valdez and Veronica Padilla, launched VPI in 2007. They started painting schools and residential homes and quickly grew to a regional leader in commercial painting and plastering. Their reputation for value, performance, and integrity is unparalleled in the commercial painting industry.
Learn more on VPI’s website.
5. Graydaze Contracting Inc.
Headquarters: Roswell, GA
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Revenue: $119.3 million
YOY Growth Rate: 21%
Graydaze is the second-largest painting contractor in the country, licensed in 48 states with offices in Georgia and Utah. It offers a single-source approach to streamline the finishing process for distribution, warehouse, manufacturing, environmental, and food and beverage facilities. Graydaze specializes in architectural paints, specialty coatings, high-performance sealants, resinous flooring, and industrial slab repair.
Gary Gray started painting residential homes in 1990 so he could generate some extra cash to follow the Grateful Dead. He got serious about Graydaze in 1994. The company is responsible for painting some of the largest distribution centers in the country, including Amazon Delivery Hubs in Arizona and California, the Walmart Distribution Center in Maryland, the McCormick Foods Distribution Center, and the FedEx Distribution Center in Utah.
Learn more on Graydaze’s website.
6. Thomas Industrial Coatings Inc.
Headquarters: Pevely, MO
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Revenue: $50 million
YOY Growth Rate: 21%
Thomas Industrial Coatings is a nationwide industrial painting contractor. It offers industrial coating application, lead abatement, surface preparation, concrete coatings, fireproofing, and high-pressure water jetting in almost every state. Thomas’s primary markets include bridges, dams, power and utilities, storage tanks, wastewater treatment, military bases, and commercial buildings.
Don Thomas established the business in 1991. The company philosophy centers on pride—in its work, its employees, and the industrial painting and coatings industry as a whole. Project highlights include fuel tanks, systems, and pipelines for the Navy and Air Force, several Department of Defense projects, Eads and Hoan Bridge restorations, J.E. Roush Dam, and many others.
Learn more on Thomas’s website.
Common Traits of the Best Painting Contractors
With so few nationally recognized companies in the space and the promising industry outlook, there’s a real opportunity for up-and-coming painting contractors to secure market share. You can learn a few important lessons from these rapidly growing market leaders.
- Think sustainably: Top painting contractors have switched to more environmentally friendly paints and materials. They use products that have faster drying times, reduce mildew growth, resist moisture, and adhere to surfaces better.
- Invest in your culture: Painting contractors at large face significant labor shortages. The ones growing take care to build strong cultures that help attract new talent and retain existing team members.
- Take control of your financial health: Between rising materials costs and rising labor costs, your profitability is at risk. From best-practice accounting construction principles to construction billing software built to help trade contractors get paid faster—there’s a lot you can do to take control of your subcontractor's financials.
If you work for a painting contractor that would benefit from six times faster billing workflows and improving invoice aging by at least 30%, check out Siteline. Other subs have used it to bill for 10,000+ projects. It might just give you the edge you need to climb up in the industry.
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