Lets Move Forward Together

As one of my initial addresses to the PCI® membership, I must begin by telling you how honored I feel to be in this executive director role. I’ve been a part of the powder coating industry for more than 20 years and am thrilled to now be serving in this capacity. Many of you may know me from my years with DuPont and then Axalta. One thing that has most definitely been a high point for me in my career is helping others in the industry be more successful. And that’s my No. 1 goal as executive director of The Powder Coating Institute.

I realize that PCI® has experienced a great deal of change in the past several years. In these times of transition, we get a chance to reflect on the great things we’ve done in the past and we get to look ahead to what we want to do to keep the association relevant, expand the marketplace and help businesses grow. More recently, we’ve transitioned from a self-managed association to being managed by Goyer Management International (GMI), an experienced association management company with a strong history in our industry. Each day I am more amazed at the skill and detail that GMI brings to PCI®. With all sincerity, I am confident that GMI has the capability to help us grow as the most trusted resource for the powder coating industry worldwide.

In these early months, I will be working with the board of directors to determine our top priorities and work hard to establish confidence and direction. As I write this in August, we’re undertaking a strategic planning session mid-month. In July, we sent out a member survey and the results will be the foundation of our discussions. If you did not get a chance to respond, please know that you can reach out to me at any time with your ideas and suggestions, via phone or email.

Another trusted resource in our industry is this great publication, Powder Coated Tough magazine. As the official publication of The Powder Coating Institute, it is 100 percent focused on the powder industry and delivers information, solutions, and resources for both consumers and manufacturers. With six issues per year, you are sure to find something you can use from each issue. We strive to keep it interesting and case studies are always interesting. Don’t miss the one on page 23 about Progressive Powder Coating in Ohio. The custom coater began as an in-house finishing line for its parent company nearly 20 years ago, but now they run two powder lines and offer outsourcing to other OEMs.

By the time you are reading this magazine, we will have held our 2015 annual meeting, where our newest Hall of Fame inductees—Greg Bocchi, Tim O’Brien and Don Tyler—were honored. Together, these men offered a combined 70 years of service to The Powder Coating Institute. Check out PCT’s web site (www. powdercoatedtough.com) for the full, web-exclusive story.

While online, be sure to explore our association web page at www. powdercoating.org. It is composed of a wealth of information, including training and educational events to help you grow your knowledge base. If you aren’t already a PCI® member, you can save money on all PCI-hosted events by joining. I look forward to meeting many of our readers at upcoming PCI® events, especially POWDER COATING 2016 next April in Atlanta.

PCI® members: This is your association. If you currently volunteer for any role in the organization, we sincerely thank you for your valuable time and effort. If you are not currently participating in all that your association has to offer, remember that you only get out of it what you put into it. As Henry Ford said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” We cannot exist without members, but with your involvement we can continue to get better. We can continue to move forward and continue our success. If you are not certain what role to play as a member, contact me and I’ll find a place for you to plug in.

Remember, my door is always open. Call or email anytime to chat about ways to help our industry grow.

Trena Benson, Executive Director
832-367-5173
trena@powdercoating.org