Membership Memo— You Are Not Alone

Sometimes we feel like the Tom Hanks character, Chuck Nolan, in the 2000 movie Castaway, where he is stranded alone on a Pacific island after a plane crash. He has no one to talk to except a Wilson volleyball on which he paints a face. If you are new to the powder coating industry it can sometimes feel that you are all alone without anyone to talk to. I want to assure you that this is not the case. One of the major reasons PCI exists is to help anyone with questions on powder coatings, equipment, or best practices.

A younger colleague of mine once told me that he was amazed by the “institutional knowledge” of all his experienced co-workers. I thought about this and agreed this group represented an impressive collective knowledge pool. However, if you look beyond the experience in your own company to an association like PCI, that pool of collective institutional knowledge becomes an ocean of member expertise. And, it’s expertise they want to share with others. This is one of the best benefits a PCI membership brings to each member and member company. PCI offers the opportunity to share collective knowledge through workshops, technical conferences, articles in Powder Coated Tough magazine, networking, and more.

PCI and its collective membership are here to help and share with you. If you have been in the industry for many years like me, the best thing you can do to help someone new to powder coating is to encourage them to join PCI and take advantage of the many benefits offered by the organization. With the support of PCI we can help newcomers gain that “institutional knowledge.”

Remember, you are not alone on an island like Tom Hanks! Allow your fellow PCI colleagues to be your Wilson, giving you comfort and companionship on your journey through your powder coating career.