By Eleanor Snite

Based in St. Augustine, Florida, East Coast Towers specializes in painting radio towers and has been doing it since 2005. Specifically, East Coast Towers paints the alternating bands, usually the aviation orange and white bands, which serve as visual obstructions and warning to air traffic. “The colors have to be FAA compliant,” said Joe Sigda, owner of East Coast Towers. “We use a high-quality, high-solid Latex paint. We use different types of paint depending on each client’s needs. We want to provide the best.” Sigda became interested in the tower industry because his father was a longtime Voice of America employee and also an amateur radio enthusiast.

“I would climb small towers to set up his communications, and the climbing was something I knew I liked,” Sigda said. “It was an opportunity to do tall tower work that sort of solidified my determination to make a business out of what I liked doing best.” Tower painting was something he could do, and he saw the need would continue and grow into the future. The products available now are better than what were available years ago and coatings can be re-applied after several years. For very large jobs, East Coast Towers works with professional subcontractors, but most jobs are done in-house, and all the company’s painters have climbing certificates.