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Is it serendipity that the first four letters — rust — of the family’s last name Rustomji became the nexus of their business? A major player in the corrosion coating sector, Houston based Coating Industries, Inc (CII), founded by the late Purvez Rustomji and fortified by his wife Aban and son Arish, has been protecting industrial plants for over three decades. Members of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) and the Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH) had an opportunity to familiarize themselves with CII during a factory visit: "From Rust, to Virgin Metal to Coatings” on April 27, 2017. 
From a humble beginning in an old craftsman style home, which is now retained as their office as Purvez promised the owners that they would never tear it down, to the factory buildings covering nine acres, CII is today a very successful family enterprise, with Aban at the helm and Arish contributing to its expansion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corrosion coating helps protect the vital elements of any industrial plant from the harsh conditions they exist in. For more than three decades, CII has provided the kind of coatings that give vital corrosion protection for substrate (underlying layer). From shipbuilders to chemical companies, major oil companies to industrial plants, CII has served a variety of clients that span multiple enterprises. As Arish walked us through the plant, he said: "We stand behind our work with extraordinary service and quality. We have maintained the highest quality standards at our plant.” It was evident that the application of industrial coatings was vital in maintaining the integrity of steel in the offshore environment. It was remarkable to observe forklifts that could handle 5,000 lbs to 100,000 lbs. Their mobile crew travel to any facility to complete the coatings. With calculated investments, assessed risks and collaborative partnerships, CII has catered to many a need, a market, a client and tailored to a growing demand in the local industry.
In 2006 CII collaborated with J. R. Manufacturing LP, a packaging and fabrication company serving the onshore and offshore oil and gas industry. As JR (Jerry Cooper Jr) himself walked us through the plant with pride, he explained how they transform engineering plans into final products. The tour of both the facilities was followed by lunch amidst a large set of metal frames that are used to hoist the larger pieces of metal for fabrication. 
The most remarkable fact is that Aban brought the success of the business back into the Zarathushti community. Later in the evening she inaugurated the Purvez S. Rustomji Room, the most recent addition to the ZAH Center.  The Room is adjacent to the Library which houses the FEZANA Information, Research and Education System collection (see "Fanning FIRES,” Parsiana, May 21, 2017).

 

 

WZCC Regional Meeting
It has been customary for WZCC to convene its North America Regional Meeting prior to the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA). Subsequent to the factory visit, a very stimulating panel discussion on "Financial resources available to new and existing businesses” was held in the afternoon. The panel was ably led by Pradeep Anand, owner of Seeta Resources and author of An Indian in Cowboy Country with 30 plus years of experience in helping clients accelerate their firms’ revenues and growth margins. The other speakers were Deborah Mansfield, a business accelerator who addressed the "Flavors of Crowdfunding for Innovation;” Tim Jeffcoat, Small Business Administration (SBA) district director, who shared guidance on "How to Secure Funding from the SBA”; Hossam Elbadawy, president and chief executive officer of O&G Technology Center, a Houston based technology incubator, focused on the oil and gas industry, who spoke on Venture Capital Funds. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WZCC global president Edul Daver reminded the audience that "Entrepreneurship is not just establishing businesses, it could be applied to your jobs, to corporate and government employment.” He concluded the educational afternoon session by outlining goals with a focus on the areas that WZCC is prioritizing: Chapter growth and sustainability; worldwide communication; focus on fiscal discipline; Iran Business Exploratory Expedition from October 1 to 10, 2017; socio-business project; creation of the WZCC Venture Fund for businesses in India where individuals would be invited to invest in start-ups for three to five years; development of the website www.wzcc.org. To expand WZCC’s reach, the major challenge is to bring more Zarathushti youth into these opportunities and programs. What would help is to have "tools” with a "road map” on the website so that young entrepreneurs could use them to connect and form sustainable partnerships for success, said WZCC member Jal Guzder. 
There was a call to Toronto, Los Angeles and other  FEZANA associations to develop and launch their local WZCC chapters.