Membership Memo—A Powder Coating Powerhouse

I have been president of Annadale Finishing Systems for the past six years. Historically, Annadale focused on the Canadian industrial liquid paint market. However, within my first six months, it quickly became apparent that the powder side of our business was growing faster than liquid. Our team often says, “We have converted several lines from liquid to powder; we have never converted a line from powder to liquid.” This resulted in an added focus on the Canadian industrial powder coating market, which led us to new suppliers. The powder application equipment supplier we partnered with immediately introduced us to PCI to help us increase our technical expertise.

Our company started from the trunk of Ray Young’s car in 1984. In addition to plain old hustle, Ray differentiated the company by focusing on liquid paint innovation and best practices. While that focus has shifted from liquid to powder, PCI enables us to build our powder coating knowledge and expertise following that same blueprint. General industrial powder coating information can be easily gathered online, but PCI is different. It’s a concentrated powerhouse of structured industrial powder coating information and experienced content presenters. I challenge anyone to attend a workshop or seminar, regardless of their years in the industry, and not come away having learned something of significance. Truth is, most of us continue to learn, even after attending multiple training and education sessions and having installed various coating systems. We were so impressed with the content provided at PCI workshops, we applied to host a Powder Coating 101 Workshop in Canada. I’m happy to share it’s been a success and we have hosted a workshop the last two years.

Then there are the relationships. WOW! I have worked within the North American industrial world for about 34 years and during that time I’ve participated in many trade groups and organizations. However, I don’t recall any of these groups having an environment where business allies and direct competitors work side by side with little to no friction, all toward the common goal of advancing our industry.

Other industries could learn a lot from PCI. I’m so grateful we were introduced to the group, and I look forward to greater involvement with PCI in the future.

John Ferguson is president of Annadale Finishing Systems.