Starzer Repair expanding with new paint facility

Judith Munson

Contributor

January 12, 2026

CRIVITZ – Hidden behind a thick row of trees along Highway 141 in northern Wisconsin, Owner Keith Starzer said Starzer Repair Spraypainting & Sandblasting operates largely out of sight. 

“[Most people] don’t even know we’re here,” he said.

Keith said that anonymity makes it all the more surprising that the company’s finished work travels to destinations around the globe.

And, he said the company –  located in Crivitz, a town of roughly 1,000 people located about an hour north of Green Bay in Marinette County – will soon have the capacity to expand its reach even further, having recently broken ground on a new 9,845-square-foot paint facility.

The expansion, Keith said, will help Starzer Repair Spraypainting & Sandblasting keep up with growing demand for its truck repair, painting and sandblasting services.

A bit of history

A commercial truck repairman by trade, Keith said he entered the spraypainting and sandblasting industry somewhat by default when seeking a facility for his growing business.

After graduating from high school, he said he moved to Chicago, where he attended the Universal Technical Institute.

From there, Keith said he went on to work for JX Peterbilt in Appleton and Green Bay before eventually moving back closer to home.

In 2014, he said he began repairing diesel trucks and trailers at night and on the weekends at his father’s dairy farm to supplement his income.

“[My side business] got busier and busier, and it was getting to be too much,” he said. “Either I had to quit doing it or take it on full-time, and that’s when we started looking for a building.”

In 2016, Keith said he purchased an existing spraypainting and sandblasting business in Crivitz and added his truck repair services to its offerings.

Shortly thereafter, Keith said his dad, Rich – who now co-owns a beef farm with his brother – joined the business and began learning the painting and sandblasting side of the business.

That shift, he said, allowed him to concentrate on building the truck repair side of the operation. 

“[My dad] started helping me some here and there on nights and weekends, but later we became legal business partners,” he said. “And that’s when we started really growing the business.”

Keith said the original owner’s sandblasting and painting business was primarily focused on pressure vessels.

“These vessels are used for many things, like water filtration,” he said. “They are used as air tanks and oil tanks and they go all over the world.”

On the other hand, Keith said, about 95% of what Starzer Repair Spraypainting & Sandblasting does is new manufacturing.

He said they’ve expanded services to a wider range of clients, including a local boat company and various truck and trailer owners, while also applying their restoration expertise to items ranging from patio furniture to classic cars.

“We even helped a cabinet maker with blasting the cabinets to make them look like old barn boards,” he said.

At Starzer Repair, Keith said staff apply precise techniques to remove rust and oxidation using sandblasting.

To avoid the health hazards associated with traditional sand, he said they use alternative media like glass, coal slag and steel grit.

Keith said each restoration project dictates which blasting agent is best suited for the job.

The business, he said, has also steadily upgraded its paint systems and will continue this process with further improvements once the new facility opens next spring.

“Our paint booths are currently built into the building,” he said. “[In] the new building, we will have a standalone paint booth, which will help us do a lot more efficient and quicker paint jobs.”

Keith said the new booth is being sourced from another Wisconsin company – Global Finishing Solutions, based in Osseo, which is located about a half hour southeast of Eau Claire. 

“We’re told it is going to be one of the biggest paint booths in the state,” he said.

Growing in every direction

A typical paint project, Keith said, can take anywhere from two days to two weeks, depending on its size.

“The heaviest job we have done so far was 44,000 pounds,” he said. “But we are bidding on some up to 77,000 pounds. Not sure if we are going to get them, but we will see.”

Keith said the business has grown not only in services and physical space but also in staff, with 15 employees now on board.

While the sandblasting and painting side of the business has served as more of a learning curve for Starzer – or, as he puts it, a “trial by fire” – Keith said its growth has enabled the truck repair side to also grow.

Though Starzer services trucks from several local fleets, Keith said its reach extends to clients as far away as Green Bay and beyond. 

“There was no truck repair involved in the business when we took it over,” he said. “I grew that, and that is [now] the biggest part of our business. We generate more revenue with it.”

Once the new paint facility is operational, Keith said both sides of the business are expected to double.

“The truck repair side will expand into the old painting part of the building,” he said.

From a side hustle in his father’s barn to one of the state’s largest paint booths, Keith said he has learned a great deal about running a business independently.

“Rules are always changing – that’s the never-ending battle,” he said. “Between the tax codes, safety regulations and record-keeping, it’s a challenge keeping up with it all. We’re hoping to hire someone to help us in some of these areas.” 

Keith said he sought support from a business coaching firm to further refine his management skills, including procurement, hiring strategies and tracking the key performance indicators that steer the business. 

With the concrete already poured for the new paint facility and steel beams expected to arrive this month, Keith said the project should be completed by April or May. 

As his father prepares to retire and return to the farm, Keith said he can’t help but reflect on the nearly 12 years of support the business has received since its founding. 

“We have good customers, really great employees and a lot of community support,” he said. “I could not have done this without the people working here.”

For more on Starzer Repair Spraypainting & Sandblasting, head to starzerrepair.com.