Serving Greater Grand Rapids & Beyond Since 1897

Over 125 Years of Outstanding Quality

Founded in Grand Rapids in 1897, Valley City Plating was the solution to plating bicycle and stove parts. Since then, we’ve grown from a small plating shop to a worldwide business that serves a number of diverse industries. Our passionate team drives our growth and continues to push our company to exceed our customers’ expectations.

Our Core Values
Flexible
Can-do, will-do attitude.
Kind
Considerate, caring and respectful to team members and customers.
Helpful
Supporting team members and customers.
Honest
Always doing the right thing with high ethics and morals.
Adventurous
Taking calculated risks for continued improvement. Not scared of failure.
Optimistic
Glass is always half full.
Committed
Dedicated and always working scheduled hours.
Gumby waving
1897 
Valley City Plating was founded and started plating bicycle and stove parts in Grand Rapids, Michigan
1967 
After several moves were made in Grand Rapids a new facility was built at 3353 Eastern Avenue
1970 
In house waste water treatment capabilities were added
1972 
15,000 Sq. ft. expansion was added to begin Furniture Manufacturing
1976 
An additional 19,000 sq. ft. expansion was added
1979 
The most recent expansion brings the total space to 82,000 square feet
2001 
Furniture Manufacturing was discontinued to focus on core competencies
2001 - 2002 
An extensive environmental audit was conducted on the entire property with no reportable findings for soil, water or air contamination
2004 
Robotic cells were added
2009 
Particle Nickel tanks were added to increase corrosion protection
2014 
High Sulfur tanks were added for increased corrosion protection
2015 
To improve quality and production efficiencies all departments were moved and re-aligned. New loading docks added and other equipment purchased to accommodate the Heavy Truck Industry
2018 
Additional equipment added to polish and buff parts for the Heavy Truck Industry
Valley City Plating
 
82K
Square Feet
Facility
Average 
30+
Years Experience
Management Staff
Average 
13+
Years Experience
Production Staff

From humble beginnings as a small plating shop to and 82,000 square-foot facility serving companies all over the globe, our team is experienced and dedicated to your success.

Oversized Quotation Marks Oversized Quotation Marks
Cheddar cheese strings monterey jack. Stilton cheeseburger blue castello cheese and wine cheese and wine cow emmental port-salut. Cheesecake swiss macaroni cheese cream cheese everyone loves when the cheese comes out everybody's happy paneer rubber cheese.  
Richard Hendricks
Pied Piper
Cheesecake swiss macaroni cheese cream cheese everyone loves when the cheese comes out everybody's happy paneer rubber cheese. Cheddar cheese strings monterey jack. Stilton cheeseburger blue castello cheese and wine cheese and wine cow emmental port-salut.  
Peter Gibbons
Initech
Cheddar cheese strings monterey jack. Stilton cheeseburger blue castello cheese and wine cheese and wine cow emmental port-salut. Cheesecake swiss macaroni cheese cream cheese everyone loves 
Gavin Rosdale
Hooli
Management Team

With an average of more than 30 years experience in the industry among our management team members, we have the right people in place to make sure our customers are pleased every time we do business together.

Jon Rasche
President
As the President of Valley City Plating Jon is involved in many aspects of the daily operation, from Production to Personnel , all while leaning heavily on our dedicated and long term staff to help execute our success. Jon started with Valley City Plating in 1986 doing Janitorial jobs while in High School and left the company for about 10 years to pursue jobs in Retail Management and Commercial Insurance before returning in 1998 as the Plant Manager. Jon and Jeff (Jon’s brother) purchased the company from their parents in 2002. Then in 2019 Jon purchased Jeff’s shares in the business giving him 100% ownership in Valley City Plating.

Core Values (Gumby) are critical to our daily existence and success at Valley City Plating and that shows through in every aspect of our company.

Jon is fully aware of the many options that Customers have today and his goal is to provide the best Quality, Cost & Delivery, so our customers can trust us for all of their finishing needs. Jon is also thankful for our excellent Suppliers that keep Valley City Plating moving forward.

Jon is most thankful to the many dedicated Associates that have chosen to work at Valley City Plating and his goal is to provide a safe and high morale work environment for which they can consider Valley City Plating home.

For the past 20 years Jon has always had his email address and cell phone proudly displayed on our website with the goal of being easily reached by anyone (Customer, Associate or Supplier) that would like to talk with him.

Outside of work Jon enjoys traveling with his wife Tara & kids, camping, biking and working in his yard.
Brian Czarnecki
Vice President
Brian joined the Valley City Plating team in October of 2014 as Vice President. Most days Brian can be found working with customers on projects, recruiting new talent, and identifying operational efficiency opportunities. Brian especially enjoys collaborating directly with our world class associates and finding ways to exceed customer expectations and creating a positive work experience.

Prior to joining Valley City Plating, Brian worked 20 years with Coca-Cola Enterprises in various roles from Account Representative, Distribution Supervisor, and General Manager of several Sales & Distribution plants in the United States. Brian commenced his career with CCE as the Vice President of Operations for the state of Michigan.

Outside of work Brian has a passion for photography that he shares with family and friends. He especially loves spending time with his two daughters and his wife, Kari at sporting and family events. You can also find Brian boating, mountain biking, fishing and working outdoors in his spare time.
Dave Lammers
Safety Manager and Procurement
Dave has been part of the VCP team since 1981. Dave is responsible for purchasing supplies & materials used to manufacture the furniture that VCP used to make. Dave also assisted in the furniture design. Dave is currently the Safety Manager at VCP and also handles procurement.
When Dave isn’t working he enjoys woodworking, working on his Jeep, water sports and spending time with his grand kids.
Dave Pelletier
Engineering Manager and Environmental Compliance Officer
Dave Pelletier has been a tremendous asset to the Valley City Plating team since 1978. As the Engineering Manager and Environmental Compliance Officer he and his team are responsible for all maintenance of equipment, engineering or tooling needs and Environmental compliance.

“I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to apply sound mechanical aptitude & logical environmental application to the many needs of our plating & polishing operation!”

“When energy & focus are applied responsibly to all levels of our Environment, Safety and making a job easier to perform, everybody wins and I smile inside! I believe God calls me to Care for people, live with a Learning mindset and make the world a better place to live...”
John Soddy
Quality Manager
John Soddy joined our team in 2016 and is the Quality Manager at Valley City Plating. John has a BS in Mathematics as well as an MBA from Cornerstone University. John has worked in Quality Management for 14 years in various industries. John specializes in regulatory management /compliance, process and procedure optimization/ creation, and General Management, where he loves connecting with the people behind the scenes in the jobs that make a business run. John enjoys building Quality Systems to comply with third party expectations and will be focused on building an ISO compliant system for Valley City Plating in the coming years.

John enjoys spending time with his 4 children, reading, and working on his house. John’s hobbies include gardening, cooking, camping and spending time at the beach.
Kumar Schwab
Polishing Supervisor
Kumar joined the Valley City Plating team in 2016 as a polisher and has since moved into the role as Polishing Supervisor. A few of Kumar’s responsibilities include training and developing new polishers, improving production efficiencies and ensuring we are meeting are customers’ expectations on delivery and quality.

His deep passion for cooking had him working as a professional chef at Noto’s Italian Restaurant prior to coming to VCP. In Kumar’s spare time he enjoys cooking with friends, family and catering for private events. He also enjoys the outdoors, golfing, fishing and boating during the summer months.
Marty Ransom
Specialty Line Supervisor
Marty started at Valley City Plating in 1978 in the Lacquer room where he worked for 5 years before leaving VCP for a brief time. He then returned in 1988 as a polisher. Marty is looked at as an artist in his role as the Specialty Line Supervisor. On a daily basis you can find him working with customers on one of our 80+ finishes.
In his free time he enjoys fishing, watching the New England Patriots and spending time with his Grand Kids.
Amber Ruiz Chavez
Chrome Line Supervisor
Amber joined Valley City Plating in 2022 after seeking a different direction in career. Amber has a background in Restaurant Management and is a Certified Dietary Manager. Both of which have contributed greatly to her new role.
Amber is a wife and a busy mother of 4 awesome children. In her spare time she enjoys watching the children participate in their extracurricular activities and spending time near her happy place…..WATER! They especially love finding new places to explore on Lake Michigan as a family.
Environmental-Protection Technology

Valley City Plating is committed to being in the forefront of environmental-protection technology. Over 99% of the waste, metal hydroxide, generated by our plating process is recycled with our recycling partner, Agmet Metals Company of Ohio. We’re continuously updating our treatment facilities to exceed federal, state and local regulations.

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Nothing beats the real thing!

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