Our story
Ben's love affair with chemistry began as a child. At 12, fires and strange smells were a common occurrence in his backyard shed/converted lab. At 14, he started as a research assistant at the BYU cancer research lab.
Continually building his personal lab through the years, Ben developed his technical expertise through various jobs and internships. Among other formative experiences, he developed molten salt electrochemistry techniques and equipment at Alpha Tech Research Corp, completed research on molten salt electrodeposited coatings for nuclear propulsion at Los Alamos National Lab, and developed high-temperature materials for nuclear propulsion at NASA.
In 2021, Radiance Electroplating got its start in a tiny closet at Brigham Larson Pianos. After becoming frustrated with the plating shop where Brigham was sending his parts, he asked his son, Ben, to set up in-house electroplating. With the chemistry equipment that Ben had collected over the years, he had some promising early success. However, he soon realized that the hard part wasn't the plating itself, but building a process for high throughput, while maintaining his excellent standard of quality, AND doing it cost-effectively.
The electroplating lab has continued its growth through years of dedication, with its capacity increasing exponentially. Eventually, Ben started taking on work outside of Brigham Larson Pianos and hired his first employee, Jeremy. Today, Radiance Electroplating is the go-to plating shop for piano rebuilders. We welcome all tours and would be thrilled to show you our unique process for restoring metal hardware to better-than-new.
Age 14 Ben at the BYU lab
Presenting work on nuclear propulsion
First brass plating
Electroplating line under construction
Hardware prep and processing area