PaintJet, a Hendersonville, Tennessee-based commercial painting company that uses robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver projects faster and with higher quality, demonstrated its creation and process at Dysruptek’s Q4 Technology Showcase. 

Among its functions, Dysruptek, Haskell’s innovation and venture capital arm, scouts and engages groundbreaking technologies that benefit the construction industry. PaintJet qualifies as a potential disruptor, said Jorge Tubella, Dysruptek’s Robotics & Research Lead. 

“They solve for an issue by saving time during painting without introducing a new issue, learning how to use new equipment,” Tubella said. “This technology is at an excellent state right now. It’s at a good convergence point for how advanced technology is and how it is understood in the field. It’s very easy to digest what the return is on the robot. That’s where we need to be right now in the industry to deploy robotic solutions.” 

PaintJet is appropriate for commercial and industrial projects of 100,000 square feet or more of surface area. The process is straightforward.  

• Drones inspect the facility to provide insight on surface conditions and maintenance cycles to establish the basis for project scope, pricing and facility base state. 
• Its imaging technology analyzes surface, environmental and coating conditions to ensure application quality and optimal efficiency. 
• Robots wash down dirt, milder and rust to prepare the surface, removing surface contaminants to ensure good paint adhesion. 
• PaintJet primes and paints using remote-control robots and AI. All robots are operated by PaintJet professionals from the ground. 

A startup dating to 2019, PaintJet is about to close its Series A funding round. Three of its second-generation robots are in the field, and the first of six to 10 third-generation units is due out in Q1 2023. 

“What’s really cool is we’ve turned into this rapid prototyping factory,” said Steve Wasilowski, Vice President of Operations and Cofounder. “By the time we get a unit out and into the field, our engineering department is bringing up another unit making serious advances. It’s always getting upgraded, which is very exciting.” 

Wasilowski said that depending on conditions, PaintJet cuts painting time by at least 25%. It also reduces overspray and paint costs because the robots apply coverage that exactly matches manufacturers’ specifications. PaintJet works with private-label paint manufacturers to offer robotically optimized coatings and warranties. 

“Since we know exactly how much paint is going on the substrate and in what conditions it’s being applied – wind speed, temperature, barometric pressure, humidity – we can offer better warranties,” Wasilowski said. “Normally, a painter is going to give you a one-year installation warranty. The manufacturer will give you a five-year warranty, but between 13 months and 60 months, you have this weird finger-pointing.  

We eliminated all that. Paint applied by PaintJjet carries a five-year installation warranty, too. We’re doing that on a very large project right now. We’re really proud of that. I think that’s unrivaled in the industry.” 

Through Dysruptek, its innovation and venture capital arm, Haskell leads the construction industry in technological development and adoption. Contact the Dysruptek team to discuss your idea “For the Betterment of the Industry.”