Epner Stuff: History
The company was founded in 1910 and is still
under third generation family management. Its first encounter
with high-tech plating came in 1938 when Cohan-Epner, named
after the founding partners, was asked to silver plate some
of the earliest microwave RADAR systems for The Columbia (University)
Radiation Labs.
Epner's infrared experience began in 1972
with a Xerox contract for high volume copier reflectors. A
truck-load of rejects for low reflectivity led to the purchase
of an infrared spectrophotometer. The lesson; what appeared
to be truly beautiful gold plating to the eye, fell far short
of the Xerox IR reflectivity spec.
In the mid 1970's the company was reorganized
as a smaller firm concentrating on high tech projects including
the plating of difficult substrates such as moly and titanium,
and plating on engineering plastics like Duroid, Teflon and
Ultem. And of course, Laser Gold and Laser Black for the optics
community. In 1985 the name was changed to Epner Technology.
Today the company consists of some forty
dedicated employees that include three chemical engineers
and one PhD chemist in the Laboratory; some 130 combined years
of plating know-how in those four people alone.
The facility is housed in a fully sprinkled
15,000 square foot brick building in the Greenpoint section
of Brooklyn, less than 10 minutes from LaGuardia Airport.
In 1999, a new $70,000 Process Control Laboratory was installed
as the second part of a 5 year rebuilding program. Sales and
Administration occupy part of a company-owned 40,00 square-foot
building near-by.
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The Men Who Built the Company |
Gerald Epner 1915 - 2004
In Memoriam:
It is with deep sadness that we note the passing of our mentor, colleague
and friend. Gerald Epner, Vice President of Epner Technology, died recently after
a short illness.
A plating engineer and entrepreneur
for virtually all of his adult life, Gerald Epner was a graduate chemical
engineer, Brooklyn Poly Tech, Class of 1935. He went to work for his father’s
electroplating company where he established one of the earliest and most
complete job shop process control laboratories. This contribution helped
the company grow to be the largest and most successful jewelry and novelty
plater in New York.The World War II years were spent as a civilian quality
specialist consulting for the Air Materiel Command based in Cleveland
with responsibility over defense contractors supplying a wide range of
military aircraft throughout the Mid West.
Rejoining the family business
after the war, he became President of Cohan-Epner as the company was then
known, succeeding Emanuel Cohan who, with Louis Epner, founded the company
in 1910.
In 1961 he moved the operation from Manhattan to a new 60,000 foot facility
in Brooklyn where the firm grew to some 150 employees.
In 1979 he guided the company
through a major reorganization away from consumer products and into its
future core technology. Namely, Laser Gold, a process that Gerald Epner
developed into the world’s most efficient electroplated infrared
reflective coating. In 1985 his process became the NBS Infrared Standard.
The company achieved further
success when he combined the Laser Gold process with electroforming.
These two engineering breakthroughs have permitted the company to evolve
from a jewelry job shop into a supplier of proprietary products to the
defense, aerospace, medical, and semiconductor industries.
Eschewing retirement, Gerald
Epner was active in the company into his 88th year.
He is survived by his wife,
two sons, a daughter, a step-daughter, five grandchildren and his brother
David, the present head of Epner Technology.
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Louis Epner 1892 - 1961
One of the founding partners of Cohan-Epner Company, Louis
Epner was the "outside man" of the company for
most of his working life. Born in New York of immigrant
parents, his education was limited, but he overcame that
handicap by being a voracious reader. In 1910 he and his
brother-in-law, Emanuel Cohan formed a jewelry repair
company. The plating was incidental to the repair function
but eventually became the focus of the business.
This photograph was taken one week before his death. |
Home
Epner's Laser Gold |
| A plating shop of 1908. Two years
later Louis Epner (left) and Emmanuel Cohan (center) left
the employ of Joseph Lansman and formed Cohan Epner Company. |
| Bronzed Baby Shoe. In the Company’s
early history, bronzing baby shoes was a mainstay of the
business. |
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