50 Years of Commercial Supply & Innovation

From Invention to Industry: Coating Place’s Legacy of Wurster Innovation

Innovation isn’t something Coating Place adopted; it’s been part of our story from the very beginning. Our origin begins with Wurster fluid bed coating itself, a technology that continues to shape modern microencapsulation across the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, animal health and specialty product industries. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Dale E. Wurster, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, collaborated with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) to develop Wurster fluid bed coating. His work laid the scientific foundation for modern microencapsulation techniques.

The Founding of Coating Place

In 1976, Harlan Hall, who worked at the Coating Labs with Dr. Wurster, acquired the intellectual property for Wurster fluid bed coating along with the original prototype coating equipment. That same year, Coating Place was established in Verona, Wisconsin, marking the beginning of a company built around advancing, scaling, and commercializing Wurster technology.

Coating Place has consistently pushed the boundaries of what Wurster coating can achieve. In the late 1980s, Coating Place introduced the industry’s first micro‑coater designed specifically for research applications, capable of producing batches as small as 20 grams. This breakthrough enabled customers to move seamlessly from early‑stage R&D into larger‑scale development.

Throughout the 1990s, Coating Place continued to innovate:

• In 1989, Coating Place advanced Wurster coating with the 7‑nozzle unit.

• In 1997, Coating Place invented the 3‑nozzle Wurster unit, enabling proprietary linear scalability, a capability that remains a cornerstone of our manufacturing approach today.

Growth Into GMP Manufacturing

In 1999 Tim and Kendall Breunig purchased majority ownership in Coating Place. Their leadership ushered in a period of significant growth and expansion, with a strategic focus on GMP contract manufacturing services.

Between 2001 and 2003, Coating Place fabricated two × 3‑nozzle production units and added dedicated warehouse space for raw and finished materials. During this time, Coating Place was also granted a DEA license, enabling work with controlled substances.

A 78,000‑square‑foot expansion in 2007 added additional production suites, solvent storage, cold storage, and warehouse capacity. In 2009, the shipping and receiving docks were expanded to support more efficient material flow.

Since shifting its strategic focus to GMP contract manufacturing, Coating Place has supported the approval of more than 23 NDA/ANDA products. This milestone reflects the company’s commitment to helping clients bring reliable, effective products to market.

Expanding Manufacturing Capacity & Support Services

To further meet growing demand, Coating Place expanded beyond Verona. In 2012, Coating Place acquired a facility located in Sauk City, Wisconsin, formerly the Sauk City Creamery. The facility was rapidly outfitted with three Wurster units, packaging, and analytical laboratory support.

In 2014, the Sauk City site was expanded again, bringing the total number of Model 4600 units at that facility to five. By 2018, Coating Place operated a total of 23 Wurster fluid bed coating units across its two manufacturing locations.

Between 2015 and 2018, a strategic expansion continued at the Verona headquarters to strengthen our capabilities and position the organization for sustained growth. Key investments included an expanded Quality Control laboratory, additional research suites, a 27,000 ft2 controlled substance warehouse, and additional offices infrastructure.

These enhancements were purpose-built to reinforce Coating Place’s ability to support highly complex, regulated manufacturing programs, ensuring we remain a trusted partner for clients operating at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation.

Strategic Investment to Accelerate Growth

As demand for advanced microencapsulation and modified-release technologies continues to grow, Coating Place has taken significant steps to expand its capabilities and support customers across pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and animal health markets.

In January of 2026 Coating Place secured a strategic growth investment from healthcare-focused private equity firm 1315 Capital, marking an important milestone in Coating Place’s continued evolution as a leading CDMO.

Partnering with 1315 Capital provides additional resources to accelerate expansion initiatives, enhance operational capabilities, and scale services for customers developing increasingly complex products. With decades of technical expertise and proprietary Wurster equipment design, the company is uniquely positioned to support programs from formulation development through commercial manufacturing.

The investment reflects strong confidence in Coating Place’s platform and reinforces its commitment to long-term innovation and growth across the industries it serves.

A Legacy That Still Innovates

From the invention of Wurster coating to today’s scalable, GMP‑compliant manufacturing operations, Coating Place has remained committed to innovation, quality, and partnership. Our history is a testament to decades spent refining technology, investing in infrastructure, and helping customers bring quality products to market.

As we look ahead, that same spirit of innovation continues to guide everything we do.