This post is based on a published Feature Article with Ernest Garcia, GM of Advanced Coating, originally published in Military Systems & Technology Magazine: Edition 4, 2025.
With decades of leadership in high-reliability conformal coatings, Advanced Coating stands at the intersection of engineering excellence, regulatory compliance and supply-chain responsiveness.
For the aerospace, defense, medical device, commercial aviation and industrial markets, we deliver surface-enhancement solutions that protect, extend life, and enable performance in the most demanding environments.At the helm of this effort is General Manager Ernest Garcia, an operations-driven executive with over 25 years of global supply-chain, manufacturing, quality and delivery leadership across aerospace, telecom, automotive, government and military sectors. Under his stewardship, Advanced Coating is primed to partner with OEMs, Tier 1 integrators and developmental programs that require both technical depth and operational discipline.
Foundation of Excellence
Founded in 1987, Advanced Coating has built its reputation by focusing exclusively on high-reliability Parylene conformal coatings and other surface-protection technologies for electronics, assemblies and components deployed in mission-critical systems. Based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, our facility is situated to support expedited logistics to aerospace hubs and worldwide freight-forwarding. We operate as an integrated part of our customer’s supply chain, serving both high-volume production programs and high-mix, low-volume developmental builds with equal agility.
Why Choose Advanced Coating?
When your subsystem is operating at 30,000 ft, in a salt-fog chamber, in the human body or in a hyper-sensitive industrial control network, the margin for error is virtually zero. That is where our experience becomes your advantage:
- Decades of Parylene coating expertise, including proprietary and patented methods for deposition, fixturing, masking, and validation.
- Certification and compliance: ISO 9001, AS9100, ITAR-registered, ISO 27001/NIST 800-171 compliant, REACH/RoHS and biocompatibility certified as required.
- NADCAP compliant (Upcoming certification in 2026)
- Supply-chain responsiveness: we serve Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers accustomed to strict spec control, short turn times and evolving production requirements.
- Customer-centric, consultative engineering support: we partner with your engineering and quality teams to understand substrate materials, cleaning/prep, ESD mitigation, fixture design and final inspection criteria.
- Unbroken commitment to long-term partnerships: we place integrity, accountability and consistency at the core of our business practices.
Markets of Focus
Aerospace & Commercial Flight Programs
For air-vehicle avionics, flight controls, sensors and other components where altitude, humidity, vibration and temperature extremes demand flawless performance, Advanced Coating offers Parylene and conformal-coating processes proven for aerospace environments. Our facility is located to support rapid logistics to Southern California aerospace hubs, and we are equipped to accommodate production ramp-ups aligned with flight-program schedules, from prototype builds to full commercial rollout. We currently ship internationally and have no issues processing to the tightest schedules in the business.
Defense & Military Systems
In a defense context where mission-critical electronics must survive exposure to chemicals, salt-fog, shock and dust, you need a coating partner with verified aerospace/defense credentials. Advanced Coating has served major aerospace and defense primes and U.S. government supply chains over many years. We understand ITAR, chain-of-custody, traceability and the rigorous documentation required for procurement by the DoD and other government agencies.
Medical Devices & Life-Science Systems
Advanced Coating’s capabilities extend into the medical-device sector where biocompatibility, clean-room processing, and sterilization compatibility are essential. Because Parylene is inert, pin-hole free and extremely conformal, it is ideal for implantable devices, surgical instruments, sensors and electronics used in interventional and diagnostic equipment. Our team supports partner OEMs in qualifying coating processes, validating adhesion, thickness and cleanliness while maintaining production schedules.
Industrial & Commercial Electronics
In industrial automation, oil/gas systems, rugged instrumentation and commercial electronics, the demand for reliable long-term protection against moisture, abrasion, corrosion and harsh ambient environments has never been higher. Advanced Coating offers process flexibility to handle small batches or production runs, and our engineering team will work with you to optimize fixturing, masking and coating sequences for yields, cost-effectiveness and on-time delivery.
The Ernest Garcia Leadership Difference
As General Manager, Ernest Garcia brings to Advanced Coating a unique combination of operational acumen, supply-chain mastery and technical orientation. With 25 years overseeing manufacturing, engineering, quality, global sourcing and delivery teams across aerospace, defense, telecom and commercial domains, Ernest ensures that Advanced Coating not only meets customer specs but also integrates seamlessly into your overall program lifecycle. His early career included leadership roles in contract manufacturing, quality escalation, supplier audit and global sourcing. All of which inform how Advanced Coating approaches each customer program: with end-to-end understanding of production pressures, quality expectations, cost constraints and delivery milestones.
Under Ernest’s leadership, the company has reinvested in state of the art equipment, training of skilled technicians, and process improvement programs that deliver improved yields, tighter cycle times and high-visibility metrics for customers. The credo he embraces: “Plan ahead. Reduce cost. Improve continuously.” This mentality fits naturally with aerospace and defense contractors who expect continual performance improvement, long-term cost containment and schedule reliability.
How We Partner with You
Engaging with Advanced Coating means tapping into a partner who will collaborate early in your program, align with your quality/engineering and support you through prototyping, qualification and full production phases.
Typical steps include:
- Specification review and engineering consultation. We partner with your design/qualification teams to review substrate metallurgy/composite, cleaning/prep requirements, ESD considerations, fixture and rack design, masking and cure/inspection sequence.
- Pilot run and qualification. We run sample builds to validate coating adhesion, thickness, void-free coverage, ESD-safe handling, and finalize documentation aligned with your QMS and purchasing requirements.
- Production ramp-up and delivery. Whether you need low-volume builds for flight test or high-volume product flight rollout, we support you with flexible planning, scheduling, logistics and just-in-time turn-in.
- Ongoing support and continuous improvement. We monitor yield metrics, feedback loops from engineering/quality, and operate continuous improvement programs to lower cost, reduce rework, and improve delivery throughout the product lifecycle.
Why it Matters for Your Program
For an aerospace or defense integrator, coating failure is not just a rework cost, it can affect life-cycle reliability, mission readiness and program credibility. For a medical device OEM, coating issues can trigger regulatory risk and device recall. For industrial electronics, downtime due to corrosion or failure can shut a facility down. Advanced Coating’s value proposition is simple: we give you confidence that the surface protection system will perform as expected, integrate with your supply-chain, maintain schedule discipline and contribute to your bottom line.
A Future-Ready Partner
As your systems evolve, whether toward miniaturized sensors, advanced composite avionics hubs, implantable diagnostics, or rugged industrial IoT modules the need for adaptive coating technology multiplies. Advanced Coating continues to invest in training, equipment and process development, staying abreast of evolving MIL-specs, aerospace standards and medical-regulatory developments. Our team is ready to support high-reliability programs with changing volumes, tighter specifications and evolving platforms.
Invitation to Collaborate
If you are evaluating your existing coating supplier and seeking a partner who combines deep technical coatings expertise, disciplined operations, supply-chain alignment, and a leadership team oriented towards engineering, manufacturing and delivery, I invite you to connect with me and the Advanced Coating leadership team. Together, we can review your specifications, collaborate on your next build, and position your components for success in aerospace, defense, medical or industrial markets.
Let Advanced Coating become your trusted surface-protection partner. We stand ready to partner with your engineering, supply-chain and quality teams to deliver on spec, on schedule and on budget.
