It was roughly five years ago when JR Custom Metal Products (JRCMP) Inc. in Wichita, Kan., had been outsourcing so many parts for finishing that the company decided it made sense to put together a finishing system of its own. According to Jorge Martinez, vice president of sales and marketing at JRCMP, “Once we made the decision to build a powder coating finishing line, we wanted to do it right.” So, they started to attend industry events such as the Powder Coating Show (now called the Powder Coating Technical Conference and Tabletop Exhibition), PCI Hands-On Workshops and FABTECH. “We needed to learn a lot,” says Martinez. “We took everything to heart. We listened to all the speakers at all the events we attended. We learned about grounding, transfer efficiencies and line density. We learned about everything in general that we could about powder coating, and from there we figured out what kind of budget we would need to put in a new, ultimate system.”

Read More...

Since its founding in 1948, American Trim (known then as Lima Tool and Die) has achieved success by adding value to the parts it supplies to the appliance industry. The company’s first customer, a kitchen range manufacturer, fell in love with the stylish, chrome-plated handle that company owner Henry Hawk designed. With the help of the Tennessee Stove Works, Hawk expanded his company’s reach into the appliance industry by developing the capability to manufacture and then plate appliance parts using an efficient, continuous, process.

Read More...

Read More...

Read More...

Read More...

Read More...

From March 27-31, The Powder Coating Institute (PCI) hosted three events at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis, making the end of March a hat trick for the powder coating industry. PCI devoted an entire week to powder coating education, hands-on training, tabletop exhibits and networking opportunities, through three of its events: a Powder Coating 101 Workshop, the Powder Coating 2017 Technical Conference & Tabletop Exhibition, and the Custom Coater Forum.

Read More...

The Powder Coating Institute (PCI) and Gema USA Inc., a Graco Inc. Company, awarded two $2,500 scholarships and recently recognized the worthy students at the PCI Powder Coating 2017 Technical Conference in Indianapolis.

Read More...

Ohio State University recently published a study in the journal, “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” which says that the average age of scientists has increased significantly in the last few years. They observed that the mean age of scientists has increased from 45.1 to 48.6 between 1993 and 2010. What’s more, the share of workers 55 and older almost doubled between 1994 and 2010 from 17 percent to 33 percent. This conclusion was reached by analyzing data of about 73,000 employed scientists in the United States. The primary reasons for this trend, according to the research, focuses mainly on the aging baby boomer generation, employees retiring at a later age, and a sparser influx of college graduates entering scientific fields.

Read More...

I'm writing this on the Sunday of the 2017 Masters Tournament. Prior to the start of today’s play, the broadcasting station showed a very moving tribute from Phil Mickelson about the late Arnold Palmer. This is the first Masters in many, many years without the very special, revered golf legend. But Arnie’s skills, handiwork and heart will forever be imbedded in the professional golfing world, impacting those who follow.

Read More...