In 2025, while many American manufacturers were wrestling with a shifting tariff landscape and the supply chain challenges it brought, manufacturing veteran Robert Doty and his partners were forging a connection with the owners of Kolzer, a Milan-based maker of industrial coating machinery. They aimed to bring Kolzer’s advanced products and services to U.S. manufacturers, noting the potential to stabilize supply and limit tariffs for American customers.
Doty and three business partners negotiated a joint ownership stake in the 70-year-old Italian company and began plotting its first foray into the American market in mid-2025. Now operating as Kolzer International, the Maple Grove operation launched this spring, offering U.S. manufacturers expanded access to high-end physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating technology.
Compared to traditional coatings, PVD creates extremely thin but very dense and hard layers that are strongly bonded to the surface resulting in higher resistance to wear, scratches, corrosion, and fading over time. These properties are especially attractive for manufacturers of fashion accessories, automotive components, consumer electronics, and household appliances. In the aerospace, medical, and defense sectors, PVD coating enhances critical properties such as surface hardness, wear resistance, low friction, and chemical stability.
As uncertainty about U.S. tariffs persists, manufacturers seeking specialized coating services may prefer a domestic supplier. But for Doty, the move wasn’t only a tariff and supply chain play; it was the next chapter in a long career in manufacturing.
Return to roots
Doty spent 26 years designing and building automation and manufacturing solutions for clients before exiting his previous company about two years ago. After a brief break, he was eager to jump back in, so he and his partners started the hunt for an established company to buy or join.
“As we searched for companies that may be for sale we found Kolzer and really liked the technology,” Doty says.
Founded seven decades ago, Kolzer built a strong reputation in Italy and across Europe by manufacturing machines that use the PVD process. The two brothers who own Kolzer were open to a partnership and ultimately struck a deal with Doty and his partners to bring them on board as co-owners. In the new arrangement, the Italian operation continues as before; the Maple Grove facility represents an additional leg of the business.
Earlier this year, Kolzer International leased a 20,000-square-foot facility in Maple Grove, and a representative from Milan traveled to Minnesota to assist with setup of the first machine. A second machine is expected to be operational this summer.
The Minnesota location will serve three functions: research and development to help clients determine the right coating process for their application; machine manufacturing for U.S. customers; and coating as a service for manufacturers who want to outsource that work to Kolzer International directly. That last offering reaches beyond the Italian model, where the business has focused on machine sales alone.
Staffing is still in the early stages. Currently, Doty and a business development manager are running operations, and the company is seeking a seasoned R&D engineer with PVD experience, a role that’s proving somewhat difficult to fill. Most candidates hold PhD credentials but lack hands-on industry background.
In the meantime, Kolzer International is leaning on Milan’s engineering team for technical support and routing the R&D efforts required to tailor PVD services to client specifications overseas while the Minnesota operation ramps up. Doty estimates the Maple Grove facility could eventually employ 15 to 30 people as the services side of the business scales.
Tariff challenges amid global ambition
Because the machines are largely manufactured in Italy, the ongoing tariff situation remains on Doty’s radar. The company is currently working through documentation from Milan to determine which components might be sourced locally and which could be kitted and shipped from Italy for final assembly in Minnesota. Having even partial domestic manufacturing capability gives Kolzer International a degree of flexibility that a purely import-dependent operation wouldn’t have.
The longer-term vision extends well beyond Minnesota. Doty describes Kolzer’s growth plan as a three-pronged effort: maintain and strengthen the Italian base, expand manufacturing and services in the U.S., and continue developing its sales network in Asia.
In the meantime, leads are coming in through a mix of channels, from trade shows and referrals from the Italian side of the business to search engine optimization that drives traffic to the company’s website.
Demand for Kolzer International’s offerings is becoming clear. Doty says his team was on its fourth R&D project with prospective customers before setting up shop in Maple Grove. “We have American customers who want us to do it here now,” he says.
Return to the Summer 2026 issue of Enterprise Minnesota® magazine.
