New and innovative programming will be featured at The Powder Coating Institute’s POWDER COATING 2018 Technical Conference from March 12-15, at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. With four days of powder coating education, tabletop exhibits, general sessions and social gatherings, this event offers the perfect balance of training and networking for all powder coating professionals.
“We’ve worked hard this year to develop different programming that offers important information and ideas for the powder coating industry,” says PCI’s Executive Director Trena Benson. “We know we have a mix of newcomers and veterans that attend this event. We wanted to be sure to keep some of the valuable basic information, but we also wanted to branch out and offer some brand new sessions for the industry.”
The event opens on Monday afternoon, March 12, with lunch and tabletop exhibits featuring powder coating manufacturers, powder coating application equipment suppliers, system houses, chemical suppliers and the various services that support the powder coating industry. The technical program kicks off with a general session featuring Dr. Amber Selking, followed by concurrent breakouts and a Tabletop Exhibit & Reception.
Tuesday, March 13, begins with an insightful general session and panel discussion featuring Michael Cravens, followed by a unique mix of presentations and roundtable discussions. Lunch in the Tabletop Exhibit Ballroom will give attendees a final chance to meet and talk with exhibitors. There will also be an evening networking event at the Speedway Indoor Karting facility.
On Wednesday, March 14, PCI’s Technical Conference program concludes with a captivating talk from Matt Kirchner and a Troubleshooting session.
Beginning on Wednesday afternoon, PCI’s popular Powder Coating 101: Basic Essentials Workshop will begin. The workshop includes a day and a half of classroom instruction based on PCI’s Powder Coating: The Complete Finisher’s Handbook.
Attendees can select from a variety of registration options for the event. Select both the full conference and the Powder Coating 101 Workshop to take advantage of a $100 discount on the Workshop fee.
Technical Conference
Monday, March 12 – Wednesday, March 14
PCI’s POWDER COATING 2018 Technical Conference will offer two full days of educational programming, with both general sessions and in-depth breakouts. Industry experts offer presentations covering topics from materials to application equipment and pretreatment to curing in a noncommercial setting.
A tabletop exhibition and networking opportunities will allow attendees the chance to speak one-on-one with suppliers and learn more about the latest innovations in the powder coating market.
Powder Coating 101 Workshop
Wednesday, March 14 – Thursday, March 15
Ready to dig deeper into understanding the basic essentials of a powder coating operation? Then PCI’s POWDER COATING 101 Workshop is for you! The workshop focuses on materials, application, reclamation, testing and evaluation, quality control, the manufacturing process and much more. If you are new to powder coating or considering a switch to powder, this workshop is a must! A networking reception will be held on Wednesday evening.
Schedule of Events
MONDAY, MARCH 12
POWDER COATING 2018 Technical Conference & Tabletop Exhibition
Noon – 1:30 PM Lunch and Tabletop Exhibits Open
1:30 – 2:30 PM Opening General Session
2:45 – 4:15 PM Tabletop Exhibits Open
5:00 – 7:00 PM Reception in Tabletop Exhibition Ballroom
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13
POWDER COATING 2018 Technical Conference & Tabletop Exhibition
7:30 – 8:45 AM Tabletops Open – Breakfast Stations Open
8:45 – 9:45 AM General Session
10:00 – 11:30 AM Breakout Sessions
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Tabletop Exhibits Open
Noon – 1:30 PM Lunch in Tabletop Exhibition Ballroom
1:30 PM Tabletop Exhibition Concludes
1:30 – 3:00 PM Breakout Sessions
3:15 – 4:45 PM Breakout Sessions
5:30 – 9:00 PM Evening Event at Speedway Indoor Karting (Transportation provided)
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14
POWDER COATING 2018 Technical Conference & POWDER COATING 101
8:30 – 11:00 AM Closing General Session
11:00 AM Powder Coating 2018 Technical Conference Concludes
1:00 – 5:00 PM Powder Coating 101: Basic Essentials
5:00 – 6:00 PM Powder Coating 101 Reception for Workshop Attendees
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THURSDAY, MARCH 15
POWDER COATING 101
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM Powder Coating 101: Basic Essentials
MONDAY, MARCH 12
1:30 PM
GENERAL SESSION
1. Driving Consistent Performance Excellence
Dr. Amber Selking, Selking Performance Group
From the manufacturing floor to the football field, delivering consistent performance excellence is critical to team success. Through her experiences working in manufacturing for SPX Corporation and as the mental performance consultant for the University of Notre Dame football team, Dr. Amber Selking will share insights from the field of human performance psychology that will help you deliver your best on a more consistent basis. The mind is an often untapped and unrealized source of energy, efficiency, and effectiveness. This keynote will lead you to discover the power of your mind and share strategies to help you deliver your absolute best, consistently.
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2:45 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONs
2. Top 10 Fundamentals of a Powder Coating Operation
Bill Owens, Akzo Nobel Coatings
Jeff Hale, Gema USA, Inc.
The session will highlight the top 10 issues a powder coater needs to understand when they start powder coating. While these are not the only issues you will encounter, your proactive approach to these top 10 will not only save you some headaches, but also time and money. Master your understanding of each of these basic critical issues and you’re well on your way to a quality powder coated finish.
3. Raising the Quality Bar
Rick Gehman, Keystone Koating LLC
Rich Saddler, Industrial Finishing Solutions, LLC
What does quality powder coating look like? In a red ocean of steep competition, what does a job shop powder coater have to do to accomplish a job with a quality finish? It is easy for us to do the minimum required and look in the rear-view mirror at our “competition” who undercut us on both price and quality and complain about them. Or we could look to the future and at our own process and continually raise the standards for ourselves, ensuring the industry moves forward. How do we raise our standards? What tools do we use and what areas do we focus on? How do we communicate to our customers and the industry that we have the processes and standards in place to meet their high expectations? What does that look like for all job shop coaters, big and small? You’ll learn the answers to these questions during this informative session.
4. Determining True Applied Cost
Michael Withers, Axalta Coating Systems
Many applicators may not understand what it truly costs them to powder coat their parts. This session will go in-depth to discuss exactly how to calculate all the true applied costs. We will also cover the ways in which you can control these costs.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 13
8:45 AM
GENERAL SESSION
5. Responsibilities and Liabilities for Powder Coaters
Michael Cravens, Icon Powder Coating & Powder Finishing Consultants
Successful powder applicators take a pragmatic and proactive approach to avoid legal problems by implementing sound business policies and practices that govern the way they operate. This session will highlight case studies that have resulted in millions of dollars of product liability and we will cover objectives for establishing a proactive approach to managing your powder operations.
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10:00 – 11:30 AM
BREAKOUT SESSIONs
6. Building a Business Case and Planning for a New Finishing System Installation
Nick Liberto, Powder Coating Consultants
Eddie Koehler and Jorge Martinez, JR Custom Metal Products
It is critical to plan and design for the best finish that addresses the required performance needed for corrosion protection, durability, weatherability, etc. This session will help you to better understand your costs and assist you in moving forward with a thorough feasibility study. Eddie and Jorge will relay the research steps they took to plan for a new powder coating system, what they learned along the way, questions you should be asking throughout the process and what they know now after one year of operation.
7. Optimizing Your Batch Powder Coating Operations
Suresh Patel, Chemetall US, Inc., now part of BASF Corp.
John Cole, Parker Ionics
John Sudges, Midwest Finishing Systems, Inc.
As with most “processes” there are many well-known and easily identified areas where optimization can translate to cost efficiencies. This presentation will discuss optimization opportunities related to cleaning/pretreatment, powder application and booths, ovens (dry-off and cure) and material handling options for batch operations. Attendees will go home with many specific hints and things to look at in their own operations that can equate to cost savings and their bottom line.
8. Minding Your Business
Frank Mohar, Nordson Corp.
Joel Watts, Alabama Power Co.
Taking care of your overall business is as important as taking care of your powder coating operations. They go hand-in-hand. In a never before offered session, we’ll review the following important aspects of minding your business:
- Grants & Incentives for Business
- Keeping Skilled Workers
- Determining the Right Time for Equipment Replacement
REGISTER NOW AT www.powdercoating.org/event/PC18
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1:30 – 3:00 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
9. Safety: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility
Marty Korecky, Akzo Nobel Coatings
Mike Thies, Gema USA, Inc.
Sergio Mancini, BCI Surface Technologies
Over the past year, PCI has received many safety and regulations related questions. We have taken your most asked safety questions and put together a panel of experts to address them. This segment will provide a presentation discussing the topics of your concerns. Our panelists will save time at the end for any new questions you may have regarding safety and regulations.
10. Architectural Powder Coatings
Mike Withers, Axalta Coating Systems
Carl Troiano, Trojan Powder Coating
This session will focus on powder coatings specifically designed to meet the rigorous specifications of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AMMA). We will discuss the AAMA 2603, 2604 and 2605 specifications and their requirements. We will also review the Qualicoat specification and how it compares to AAMA. The presenters provide perspective from both powder manufacturing and job coating shop ownership.
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3:15 – 4:45 PM
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
11. Roundtable for Applicators
Sharing your knowledge with others is one of the highlights of any PCI technical conference. This year we’ll be holdingroundtable discussions that will include these topics….
- Approaching management for new equipment needs
- Application tips – Have you thought about...
- Powder disposal
12. Creating a Comprehensive Finishing Specification
Michael Cravens, Icon Powder Coating & Powder Finishing Consultants
So many companies outsource their finishing work and do not have a formal written finishing specification. This leaves all quality accept/reject criteria open to subjective opinion. Let’s review the best approach to generating a comprehensive specification and why it is so important.
13. Pretreatment: Understanding Your Options
David Schimpff, DuBois Chemicals
Choosing the best pretreatment to ensure the performance that customers require, while protecting the environment and considering costs can be a real challenge. Are there situations where iron phosphate still reigns? Should I be looking at the newer technology and will it solve some of my problems? This session will address these issues and more.
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14
8:30 AM
GENERAL SESSION
14. The Robots are Coming, IIoT, and Advanced Automation
Matt Kirchner, LAB Midwest LLC
The fourth industrial revolution is upon us and powder coating will never be the same. Finishing robots that communicate with the cloud, order their own replacement parts and repair themselves. Automatic analytics that improve finishing processes with no help from a human being. Machine Learning. Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Neural Networks. Even if you’re not thinking on this level yet – your competition might be. In this entertaining and provoking presentation, Matt Kirchner, who has invested much of the last 18 months studying Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things – will share what’s on the horizon for manufacturers and powder coaters alike.
15. Troubleshooting Your Powder Coating Operation
Ron Cudzilo, George Koch Sons, LLC
Joe Glassco, Wagner Industrial Solutions
Ken Kaluzny, Coral Chemical Co.
Bill Owens, Akzo Nobel Coatings
Every powder coating operation runs into problems now and then. How you learn to solve those challenges when they arise is what’s important. In our final session, we’ll explore a variety of troubleshooting exercises that will teach you how to identify problems, determine what caused them, steps to solve them and ultimately prevent them from happening again. This interactive session will include industry experts and audience participation!
Tabletop Exhibitors (as of December 18, 2017)
ACT Test Panels, LLC
Arkema Coating Resins
Axalta Coating Systems
B.L. Downey Company LLC
BCI Surface Technologies
Blasdel Enterprises
Caplugs/Shercon
Carlisle Fluid Technologies
Chemetall US, Inc.
Chemical Coaters Association International
Col-Met Engineered Finishing Solutions
DeFelsko Corporation
DuBois Chemicals
Echo Engineering & Production Supplies Inc.
Elcometer, Inc.
Fischer Technology Inc.
Fostoria Process Equipment, Div. of TPI Corp.
Gema USA Inc.
Gemme Barium Sulfate
George Koch Sons, LLC
Global Finishing Solutions
Intek Corporation
IntelliFinishing
Midwest Finishing Systems, Inc.
Nordson Corporation
Parker Ionics
Powder Coating Consultants, Division of Ninan, Inc.
Powder Coating Institute
Products Finishing
Richards-Wilcox, Inc.
Rohner
RollSeal, Inc.
SAMES KREMLIN
Therma-Tron-X
Wagner Industrial Solutions
Companies in bold are members of the Powder Coating Institute