Directors Message— Pushing Out Industry to Greater Heights

I would like to start by thanking those who attended our Annual Meeting in Sarasota in late June. It was simply outstanding. If you weren’t there, you missed out on some great programming and networking. Engaging speakers shared ideas for developing internships and apprenticeships as a tool for attracting talent in today’s very tight labor market. One manufacturer described how they worked jointly with local schools and authorities to develop their successful program, while one of our member suppliers described their internship program. End-users Harley Davidson and Keystone Koating, two fascinating organizations, presented their own efforts to meet the needs of their customers.

Events such as this and our annual Powder Coating Technical Conference are special opportunities to encourage “out of the office” thinking. They initiate the give and take of ideas, expose us to the many different talents and experts within our industry, and raise the caliber of our own skillsets. As we trudge through this difficult labor market, don’t discount these types of investments in your team (oh, and speaking of discounts, if you join PCI, each member of your team gets a discounted registration rate for these events). These times call for a fierceness to compete, especially for small businesses, on a level playing field with larger companies. And it’s not just about recruiting. In our current business climate, we must create exciting, inspiring and challenging workplaces and cultures that are inviting.

If you’re not a PCI member organization, join us and help to promote the industry you are passionate about. Encourage your team members to get involved in pushing our industry to greater heights. There are innumerable options. At each Annual Meeting we hold our regular committee meetings in person, and this year’s meetings were especially encouraging. We came away with many ideas for growing PCI’s foundation as the resource for all things powder coating. Just to name a few: Our Education Committee is close to wrapping up their work to establish stronger content within our Powder 101 and 202 Training Workshops and our Technical Committee identified efforts to update older documents and generate new ones for key subject matters in our industry. They also identified sub-markets that need PCI’s expertise. The Promotions Committee discussed progress on future consumer and manufacturer videos (check out our existing videos on Powder Coating Institute’s YouTube channel) and plans for promoting our Powder Coated Tough Mark. The Certification Committee discussed further efforts to promote the program, to include manufacturing publications outside of the coatings industry. Our Membership Committee is working on ideas to add value to membership and options for additional market intelligence efforts that are of interest to our members

I came away from this Annual Meeting with great enthusiasm about our future efforts in promoting powder coating technology. I hope that this issue of Powder Coated Tough will be inspiring and idea-packed for stepping up your company’s impact on our industry. Our economy and our industry are doing well. It’s a great time to enhance your involvement and make an impact.

Trena Benson, Executive Director
She can be reached at trena@powdercoating.org