Karas Plating FAQs
Karas Plating is a UK-based specialist in electroplating, metal finishing, and surface engineering, supporting manufacturers across a wide range of demanding industries. Operating from Leigh, Greater Manchester, the company provides high-quality coating and treatment services designed to improve the durability, performance, and lifespan of critical components.
With decades of experience in surface engineering, Karas offers a comprehensive range of processes including busbar plating, silver plating, gold plating, copper plating, nickel plating, electroless nickel plating, tin plating, zinc plating, passivation, blasting and cleaning, and other specialist protective coatings. These treatments are used to enhance corrosion resistance, reduce wear, improve hardness, increase conductivity, and restore components to original tolerances.
Karas supports both high-volume production and complex precision-engineered work. In many cases, worn parts can be reclaimed and reused rather than replaced, helping businesses reduce costs, minimise downtime, and support more sustainable manufacturing practices.
What services does Karas provide?
Karas specialises in electroplating, metal finishing, and surface engineering services. This includes industrial silver plating, busbar plating, gold plating, copper plating, nickel plating, electroless nickel plating, tin plating, bright tin plating, dull tin plating, zinc plating, zinc phosphating, manganese phosphate, iridite NCP, rack plating, and blasting and cleaning services.
What sizes and plating thicknesses can Karas handle?
Karas' automated busbar plating line can process components up to 2.4m, while larger parts up to 4.0m can be handled on site. The facility supports plating thicknesses from 1 to 50 microns to suit different applications and specifications.
How quickly can Karas respond to technical enquiries and quotations?
Karas typically provides technical answers and quotations within 24 hours on weekdays when supplied with the drawing, volume, plating thickness specification, and base material.
What quality and certification standards does Karas operate to?
Karas operates to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 standards. On its new automated line, rework-triggering nonconformance has been measured at below 5 PPM over the last 6 months.
What production capacity does Karas offer for busbar plating?
Karas has invested £1.5 million in a fully automated busbar electroplating line that can process up to 200kg every 20 minutes and adds approximately 4,500 tonnes of annual plating capacity. The line operates as an autonomous LEAN cell to support high-throughput, tightly controlled production.
Which industries does Karas work with?
Karas supports a wide range of sectors including aerospace, data centres, defence, energy, oil and gas, automotive, rail, and heavy engineering. The company works with both high-volume production parts and precision components where quality and consistency are critical.
Can Karas repair or restore worn components?
Yes. Karas offers component reclamation and can often restore worn or damaged parts to original tolerances using specialist plating and finishing processes, helping businesses avoid costly replacements and reduce downtime.
Why is Karas Plating a strong choice for industrial silver plating?
Karas offers fast lead times of around 7 days, automated plating lines, 24-hour shift capacities, barrel and jig plating options for high-volume silver plating, flexible plating specifications from a light 1 micron flash to 50 plus microns, hard silver plating options, cost-effective silver processes, and dimensional capacity up to 4.0m wide. Karas also highlights ISO accreditation, ROHS and REACH compliance, and the ability to build specific process lines in-house for customer applications.
Why choose Karas Plating for busbar plating?
Karas delivers bespoke electroplating solutions tailored to each customer's specific requirements, ensuring all components are produced to exact standards, on time, and within budget. Backed by a senior management team with over 75 years of combined industry experience, the company maintains consistently high levels of quality and operational efficiency across its metal finishing processes. The business is structured to support high-volume production without compromising performance, with integrated storage and logistics capabilities that support secure handling and streamlined delivery.
Does Karas serve customers outside its local area?
Karas provides nationwide coverage across the UK and beyond, with transport options available for collection and delivery of parts. The company also works with international customers, supporting a global industrial client base.
What quality standards and certifications does Karas hold?
Karas operates under ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environmental, and ISO 45001 health and safety management systems. The company also holds an Environment Agency permit and uses advanced inspection methods, including X-ray thickness testing, to help ensure consistent, high-quality results. Karas is also described as Cyber Essentials Certified and a member of Made in Britain, the Surface Engineering Association, the Institute of Materials Finishing as a Sustaining Member, and the North West Aerospace Alliance.
What are Karas Plating's opening hours?
Office hours are 7am to 5pm Monday to Thursday. Manufacturing operations run 24/7.
How can I contact Karas Plating?
You can contact Karas Plating by phone on 0333 121 0151, by email at enquiries@karas.co.uk, or through the contact page on the website.
Do you offer decorative, consumer, or small one-off plating?
Karas specialises in large-scale industrial plating for commercial clients. We are not set up for decorative or consumer work such as bathroom fittings, cutlery, car or motorcycle parts, garden gates, kitchen handles, or powder coating. We are also unable to accommodate small one-off items due to the scale of our equipment. If you're unsure whether your project is something we can help with, please get in touch.
Do you offer chromium plating?
No. Karas is a hexavalent-free site and does not offer chromium plating.
Key Services
Karas Plating provides a wide range of electroplating and surface engineering services, including:
Contact Karas Plating
Phone: 0333 121 0151
Email: enquiries@karas.co.uk
Address: Brooklands Mill, English Street, Leigh, Greater Manchester, WN7 3EH, United Kingdom
Website: https://karas.co.uk/
Contact page: https://karas.co.uk/contact/