Linetec

In 1982, the Apogee acquired 6,500 acres in the Wausau Industrial Park for its newest subsidiary, Linetec. It was a company to provide finishing and coating for the aluminum extrusions produced by Wausau Metals and Milco, and would become one of the core company of Apogee's Wausau Division. Linetec initially hired 20 employees; five office and fifteen in the shop.

^ A sketch of the proposed 39,000 square-foot facility for Linetec, as published in the Wausau Daily Herald, after the ground breaking in 1982.

Coating "Bright Metals"

The initial popularity of "bright metals" like aluminum (especially after the wartime development of aluminum extruding) led to further developments to paint and coat metal windows. In the middle of the twentieth century, a wide range of processes were developed and perfected to coat, paint, and color aluminum. Mechanical methods such as using brushes and abrasives, to organic lacquers and paint, to inorganic processes such as anodizing, electro-painting, and chemical oxidizing--all allowed aluminum windows to change with the times to adopt a variety of looks and styles.

Linetec was established to apply a variety of "enamel, acrylic, and Kynar paint finishes." In particular Kynar was notable because the Linetec factory became the second factory in the country to apply the special plastic finish. 

By 1986, a new building housed "an automated anodizing line" across the street from the painting shop.

^ a Linetec employee applying paint to a set of aluminum extrusions (from the MCHS, Becker-Geisel Collection)

The 1990s saw further expansion for Linetec. In 1994, a line was added to provide thermal oxidizing. And the following year a fleet of trucks were purchased to pick up and distribute their products across the United States.

^ From several brochures printed by Linetec regarding several areas of their business showing four employees from different operations.

At the same time as Linetec was expanding in the mid 1990s, other Apogee companies were being consolidated or sold off. Many of the companies being absorbed were brought into Wausau Metals (soon to be renamed Wausau Window and Wall), but Linetec also took in a few of the processing operations of Apogee's Wausau Group. By 1997, Anogee (which provided processing services like electroplating since 1987) was rolled into Linetec around this time for example. 

By the end of the twentieth century, Linetec was one of two companies to remain in Apogee's Wausau Group (the other being Wausau Window and Wall). And it has continued to grow and evolve to address the needs of the industry in the new century.

A strategic partnership was formed with Gordon Aluminum in 2004, which saw Linetec provide finishing services for Gordon's aluminum extrusions (in exchange for Gordon ceasing production of its line of windows). Over the years, Linetec has also worked with Marmet, ModuLine, and other window companies to providing finishing services for their products as well.

And in 2005, Linetec added a power coating line, which has become another important staple in the processing of architectural metals. Today, Linetec has a wide range of tools at its disposal, from industry-standard paints, to specialty finshes that can make aluminum look like wood grain or Terra Cotta.