Inquiries like those from the semiconductor manufacturer and DHS harken back to a chance meeting Epner had with a Xerox engineer in the early 1970s. The engineer wanted to know whether Epner had a coating technology that would hold up under the high temperature of the powerful heat lamp used in copy machines. Epner Technology had such a capability, and it made adhesion under high heat possible; the fact that the coating also had superior reflectivity was a plus. At the time, the company's business mainly involved gold-plating jewelry. Epner Technology leveraged the Xerox work to win increasingly challenging projects.

Epner believes his company's three greatest strengths are the synergy that comes from close interaction between his technical team, the opportunity to pursue technically challenging work, and keeping an open mind about what otherwise might seem like hair-brained ideas. “It is the key to our success and sustaining a culture of innovation,” he says.