Colorado Lining International Inc

Colorado Lining International Inc. (CLI) opened its doors in 1978 fabricating and installing specialty environmental lining systems. Patrick Elliott, general manager of CLI, has been with the business for 19 years. “I came to work at the company fresh out of high school in 1994,” he says. “It started as a summer job and I never left.” Patrick and the rest of the staff comprise decades of combined experience in the industry, a factor that sets CLI apart from competitors. “The owner and company president, John Heap, has been here for 30 years,” he continues. “His father founded the business five years before that.”

The business has experienced steady growth over the years. CLI operates out of two facilities, with a headquarters in Parker, Colo., and a production facility in New Caney, Texas. Sales representatives support business on each coast, with a satellite office each in California and North Carolina. 90 employees keep the gears turning as CLI produces custom solutions for a range of industries, including agriculture, athletics, industrial, municipal, and oil and gas. Long-distances relationships have allowed the business to sustain sales on several continents.

Custom Products and Leading Service

CLI works with customers to develop unique solutions for a variety of lining needs. “Basically we are a specialty contractor,” says Patrick. “We specialize in environmental lining systems for a variety of markets. We’ve done pit liners, oil and gas projects, hydraulic pumps, lagoons for farming operations, liners for drinking water and wastewater systems, golf course lakes and other decorative lakes. This is a very diverse marketplace.

“There are two sides to the business. We are a fabricator, so we fabricate the linings and ship it out to installers or have our own crews travel to the location for installation. The fact that we do both really sets us apart as many businesses do one or the other. A majority of our business is in the Western United States, but we are an international company. We specialize in the complicated projects. We like a challenge, so we enjoy going out and working on the tough ones.”

The team recently completed a large project in Australia. “It was pretty neat,” says Patrick. “We were working on a desalinization plant that is used to remove salt from ocean water for irrigation and drinking. We have also been doing some large projects in the oil and gas industry for hydraulic fracturing. In the gas industry, they pump chemicals and water into the well to fracture veins to get better producing wells. In turn, that requires a large volume of water for the process and water is very precious these days. You get contaminated water in the process that has been mixed with the chemical, salt and sand and it has to be stored somewhere to protect the ground water from mixing in with it.”

Expanding Horizons

While the state of the economy has been sub-par over the last few years, Patrick says his company has remained strong. “We dealt with it well,” he explains. “In 2002 we were doing about 35 percent in development and last year it was probably five to 10 percent with the changes in the housing markets. Our business shifted to different marketplaces and we survived well through it. It changed the markets we decided to chase. We added 40 feet onto our fabrication plant in Houston this year. Our business is very dependent on the floor space we have available.”

Aside from making room for growth, CLI is introducing some new products and services to the line. “We have a new product called EcoDur,” Patrick elaborates. “It’s a spray-on liner and it’s fairly new compared to the traditional sheet liners. The EcoDur serves a similiar purpose for applications, but has differences in how it performs. The material has been dubbed ‘veggie plastic.’ It is made from gypsum, one of the most abundant resources on the planet. We have done some good size jobs with it so far. We are taking our time and making sure it is working well.

“We are also getting into some more traditional coatings that will complement the projects we work on,” he continues. “Our philosophy is to pick the right product for the right project. Each product has its own traits that work better for different industries. We are always looking for new products and teaming up with our manufacturers to find them.”

CLI is celebrating 35 years of business in 2013. Patrick says the business has no major plans for a celebration, but notes, “We have been putting that in our advertisements.” For now, the crew is focused on maintaining steady growth and offering leading products and services to clients. “We will continue to do what we do best,” he says, which means Colorado Lining International Inc. will keep pushing for quality and innovation in lining product fabrication for clients around the world.

For more information about Colorado Lining International Inc., please visit: www.coloradolining.com.