Hard work is a must-have in the repertoire of an entrepreneur, and Selena Kollaja, owner of Birmingham, Ala.-based SMC Commercial Services, is no stranger to the notion. Kollaja grew up working with her grandmother, who owned The Asphalt Co. and served as a role model for the budding business owner.

“I shoveled my share of asphalt and painted enough stripes to reach to California,” she said of her days working on her grandmother’s worksites.

Though the asphalt industry wasn’t where Kollaja would end up in her career, it was definitely a stepping stone in her entry into another industry — coatings.

Kollaja’s experience in coatings began when she worked with Jeff Longmore, the formulator of Thin Film Technology, and his partner. While the importance of things like surface prep and microbiologically influenced corrosion was being “drilled into her head,” Kollaja was able to be a part of the creation of some impressive coatings, such as GAS-PRUF, which avoids a tank having to be taken out of service, drained and cleaned before application.

“I was a part of something the industry said couldn’t be done,” she said. “How could I not be fascinated?”

The longer she was involved in the coatings industry, the more it became clear to her that there was room for improvement.

“I would see contractors in the field struggling with failures due to improper mixing or not following NACE standards,” she said.

In one instance, Kollaja was called on to look at a shrimp boat that had quarter-sized pieces of coating coming off of it — and it had only been coated two months prior.

“The mil thickness was fine, and the profile looked good, but when I looked up the MSDS on the coating, I found that it was meant for interior use — the coating rep had sold them the wrong product,” she said.

The boat owner asked if Kollaja would be interested in getting a crew together and becoming an applicator, an offer she jumped to take. Acting as the anchor of that crew was Benjy Abbott, who now serves as SMC’s quality control supervisor. Kollaja said she knew her company was going to make it when she hired Abbott.

“After being in the industry for 20 years, he still loves the challenges some jobs bring with them,” she said.

Kollaja and her team know that at the heart of their industry is having an expansive understanding of the coatings needed to protect their customers’ structures.

“There is a lot to understand when it comes to recommending the right solution for a project,” she said. “What contaminants are we protecting against? What is the service temperature? How long can the tank be out of service?”

Having an organized, team attitude is also important, according to Kollaja.

“We usually have a number of other contractors on site with us pushing to get a job completed on schedule, so working together is a must,” she said.

Kollaja credits the company’s success to the team effort of her crew, as well as the high quality of work that results from that effort.

“They represent SMC long after we’re off the jobsite,” she said.

To stay up to date on the coatings scene, Kollaja belongs to relevant industry organizations, such as NACE, SSPC, the National Institute of Storage Tank Management, the Polyurea Development Association and the Women Contractors Association.

She hopes to delve deeper into her industry involvement by setting up coatings training classes hosted by SMC.

“We are working against nature to prolong the deterioration of these structures,” she said. “But once it is understood that concrete and rust are alive and that that is why certain steps must be taken to ensure longevity, those in the field will go that extra step because they will have a solid knowledge of what they are dealing with — not just painting, but protecting with a coating.”

Kollaja is excited about the prospect of additional training, even for a coatings company owner like herself.

“There is no end to your learning in this industry,” she said.

In her spare time, Kollaja enjoys fishing and boating with her husband and children, David, 16; Aaron and Jeremy, 13; and Lauren, 11. (In fact, she is having a small school of mahi mahi mounted from a recent family vacation.)

To learn more, call (205) 981-3008 or visit www.smcservices.net.