Author: Franklin Li

Houston, TX – HighTech Finishing, a leading provider of decorative metal plating for the aviation industry, announces the retirement of Rick Niefield, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, at the end of the year. After 24 years of dedicated service and impressive growth, Rick leaves behind a legacy of excellence, having played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s market presence and strengthening customer relationships.

Stepping into this esteemed role is Amanda Taylor, who has been an integral part of HighTech Finishing’s sales leadership team. Amanda’s promotion to Vice President of Sales & Marketing reflects her deep industry expertise and commitment to driving innovation and customer satisfaction. Since joining the company, she has been instrumental in enhancing the customer experience and spearheading strategic growth initiatives.

“We are incredibly grateful for Rick’s contributions to HighTech Finishing. His leadership has been invaluable, and we wish him the best in his well-earned retirement,” said Simon Haining, President of HighTech Finishing. “At the same time, we are excited to welcome Amanda into this new role. Her vision and passion for the aviation industry make her the perfect choice to lead our sales and marketing efforts into the future.”
Through the remainder of 2025, Rick and Amanda will share company responsibilities, ensuring a seamless transition for customers and partners.

About HighTech Finishing
HighTech Finishing specializes in high-quality decorative plating for aircraft interiors, serving OEMs, refurbishment centers, and aviation professionals worldwide. With a commitment to craftsmanship and innovation, the company continues to set the standard for excellence in aviation interior finishing.

March 28th 2025
As our industry has expanded, so too has High Tech Finishing and as a result we have outgrown our home of the past forty-one years. As such, we have purchased a new building in north-west Houston. The address for which is:
5425 North Sam Houston Parkway West,
Houston, Texas, 77086, United States of America

Our new building is a substantive upgrade on our current location as it provides a significant increase in floor space, all under one roof. It has allowed us to redesign the layout of our departments, which has been done with a Lean Manufacturing philosophy in mind.
Working with city officials, safety and environmental professionals, insurance advisors, architectural experts and plating industry specialists, we have built a truly world-class facility to ensure that High Tech Finishing continues to deliver the best quality decorative plating hardware in the aerospace industry. We expect to begin our transition to our new building in June. Our success stems from our experience and we are proud that our exceptional team is excited to make the fifteen-mile move north as we embark on the next chapter of our company.
We are in the process of transferring our FAA Repair Station, ISO 9001 and AS9100 certificates to our new address. It is important to highlight that we will continue to operate our existing facility simultaneously. This will ensure a seamless transition and prevent any disruption to our delivery schedules.
Along with the building, we are installing new state of the art plating and anodizing lines. These lines have been designed to provide additional capacity, while improving quality and efficiency. To eliminate environmental risks, the plating line incorporates a new waste-water treatment system that will remove all metal contaminants, balance pH and destroy other chemicals before being discharged. Every plating tank also includes a new air-scrubber system to remove acidic/caustic vapor before the air is ventilated to the atmosphere. Importantly, new safety devices are in place, such as hot-water heating instead of electrical heating to eliminate the risk of fire, electronic air quality monitoring to eliminate the risk of vapor build-up and electronic monitoring of solution pH, to eliminate the risk of corrosion.
On behalf of the High Tech Finishing team, I am honored to share this news with you and we look forward to continuing our partnership into the future.

Simon Haining
President of High Tech Finishing

High Tech Finishing’s New Plating Facility: A Leap Forward in Aviation Interior Plating
High Tech Finishing, a leading name in aviation interior plating, is embarking on an exciting new journey with the construction of our state-of-the-art plating facility in North Houston. This new facility, as large as two aircraft hangars, is not just an expansion; it’s a significant evolution in the company’s mission to provide premium decorative plating solutions for the aviation industry.

A New Era of Efficiency and Growth
The new facility is designed to accommodate future growth plans and provide a larger and more efficient space for our current operations. This move is a testament to HighTech’s commitment to innovation and excellence in the aviation plating industry. The new building will enable High Tech to enhance production capabilities, ensuring we continue to meet the high quality standards and rapid turn times customers have come to expect.

Follow the Journey
Embarking on this exciting new chapter, we invite you to follow us on our journey as we’ll be sharing updates on the progress and key milestones on our LinkedIn page. This is an opportunity to witness the evolution of a company that has been at the forefront of aviation interior plating for over four decades.
Stay tuned for more updates as High Tech Finishing continues to lead the way in aviation interior plating.

HighTech Finishing is excited to introduce the newest member of our sales team, Lauren Stout, who joins us in the position of national sales manager. Lauren brings over 13 years of experience in aircraft interior design, project management and aircraft interior sales and has previously held key management positions at Constant Aviation and Flexjet.

Lauren will cover the domestic decorative plating market for the company while seeking growth opportunities in other industries as well. We are confident she will be a great addition to the company.

Please join me in welcoming Lauren to the HighTech team. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to the positive contributions she will bring!

As you may know Houston was impacted by hurricane Beryl.

Fortunately all HTF employees are safe and well and our buildings and equipment sustained no damage.
However we are currently without power.
We are working with our utility company to find out when this will be restored and allow us to get back to work.
We appreciate your patience as we work this problem.

Rest assured, all HTF employees are ready to work around the clock once the power is restored.

Image from (Raquel Natalicchio / Associated Press)