Presenter: Conor Cunneen, Irishman Speaks & Phil Phillips, CHEMARK Consulting Group

General Session

The Gift of GAB – Goals, Attitude, and Behavior
Conor Cunneen
The Irishman Speaks

Yes, the Irish are famous for the Gift of GAB, but in this keynote presentation, Irishman Conor Cunneen explains how the Gift of GAB – Goals, Attitude and Behavior (and Brand) can generate incremental business and drive success.  Showcasing both successful and not-so-successful businesses, this internationally acclaimed business speaker and award winning humorist will help you better appreciate the importance of goals, attitude and behavior.

Trends in Powder Coating:  Where are We Going?
Phil Phillips, PhD
CHEMARK Consulting Group

A global macro consideration of the powder coatings industry, comparing powder to other competitive technologies by major market segments, the trends and the rationale supporting those estimates, and the challenges associated with further powder coatings growth. Special consideration will be paid to new opportunities for powder growth versus competitive coating systems.

Presenter: Rodger Talbert, Col-Met; Richard Gehman, Keystone Koating

BUILDING A BETTER JOB SHOP

Understanding Cost to Maximize Profit
Rodger Talbert
Col-Met Engineered Finishing Solutions

Many coaters do not fully understand the cost drivers of their coating line, how to measure them and how to manage them effectively. This presentation will review the factors that impact costs on a powder coating line and explain how to determine and manage the costs associated with a particular production part.

The Competitive Advantage
Richard Gehman
Keystone Koating LLC

"Our people truly are our greatest asset!"  Focusing on and developing people is the secret to creating a highly competitive job shop.  The ability to attract and retain good employees allows us to attract and retain great customers. By building on trust, an organization can improve culture, efficiency, quality and customer satisfaction.  All of these components lead to healthy profits.  We will highlight examples for our company’s success.

Presenter: Kirk Beaster & Suresh Patel, Chemetall

Pretreatment Trends

Optimizing Your Surface Treatment Process
Kirk Beaster
Chemetall US Inc.

Optimizing your surface treatment process means more than just converting to a higher performance chemical program. There are numerous mechanical and operational improvements that can be implemented to optimize the process. The primary focus is to optimize the application of the process solutions to provide high quality finished goods, while increasing process efficiency and realizing cost savings for the entire finishing process. This presentation will discuss optimized water flows, solution application, equipment considerations and the use of peripheral equipment to maintain solution cleanliness or provide clean water sources. Guidelines for operating parameters and general preventative maintenance will also be discussed.

Recent Trends in Chemical Pretreatment
Suresh Patel
Chemetall US Inc.

The driving forces for the development of new chemical pretreatment products are the need for more environmentally compliant processes, operational cost savings, and improved productivity for the customer. These trends are addressed by introducing phosphate-free pretreatments that are based on titanium, zirconium and various silane compounds.  These pretreatments offer a significant overall process cost savings in the form of reduced energy requirements, waste water treatment and labor costs, as well as other operational expenses. This presentation will provide an overview of “Recent Trends in Chemical Pretreatment”.  What is the future of advanced phosphate-free pretreatments and the relevance to your process, including the latest developments in advanced pretreatments? It will also cover some real world application factors to consider when introducing advanced pretreatment technologies into your production line allowing you to effectively manage the transition from conventional pretreatment to advanced pretreatment technologies!

Presenter: Nick Liberto, Powder Coating Consultants; Carlomango Ouellet, Greensolv

CONTROLLING PRODUCTION COSTS

Understanding and Reducing Powder System Operating Costs
Nicholas Liberto
Powder Coating Consultants

Calculating your coating system's operational costs can be difficult, especially in large complicated processes.  However, this is the first step you must take to determine which areas of your coating process are the most costly and what actions can provide the best savings.  We will discuss how to estimate your total operational costs and the tools that are available to simplify this process.  This evaluation will include all process costs, providing a complete overview of total operational costs. This cost evaluation can apply to any coating process, whether it is a current operation (liquid or powder) or an estimation of the operational costs for a future, or planned, coating process.  Techniques for reducing operational costs will be reviewed with actual real-world examples to provide the attendee with recommendations on where they can reduce costs in their own process.

Recoup Profits from Rejects:  Fast & Clean
Carlomagno Ouellet
Greensolv inc.

Depending on your industry sector, powder coating reject rates can vary from 2% to 8%. How do you resolve this dilemma: discard, reprocess, store for recycling or outsource to a refinisher? Ideally, you prefer to minimize that percentage. What is your low cost solution to improve profitability and rework your rejects?  Spot sanding, bare metal blasting, burning-off the coating or chemical stripping.  Which procedure will best benefit you from a perspective of cost effectiveness and profitability?  We’ll review them together.

The tabletop exhibition enhances the conference with a fun casino night reception in the exhibition hall.  You will have the opportunity to connect with leading suppliers in the industry during the tabletop exhibition reception and casino night.

ASK THE EXPERTS

Marty Vicens - Moderator
Nordson

This session consists of short presentations on factors important to a great powder coated finish.  The last portion of the session will feature a panel discussion with all speakers participating.  Attendees will be encouraged to ask a panel of experts questions regarding their existing system or a potential system.  Attendees can also bring in sample problem parts to help troubleshoot current issues.  The following five expert speakers will be available for questions.

Pre-Paint Treatment Trends
Ken Kaluzny, Coral Chemical Co.

Testing Methods
David Beamish, DeFelsko Corporation

Hook & Rack Stripping
Larry Ensley, Hubbard-Hall

Powder Coating Application
Rodger Talbert, Col-Met Engineered Finishing Solutions

Conveyors
Josh Gilmore, IntelliFinishing

Presenter: Steve Jones, TCI Powder Coating; Mike Withers, Axalta; Justin Girard, Chemetall

ARCHITECTURAL ALLURE

Everything You Wanted to Know About Architectural Powder Coatings
Steve Jones, TCI Powder Coating and Mike Withers Axalta Coating Systems

This presentation will cover a variety of topics regarding the most important processes and requirements involved with powder coating a finished product that meets the performance specification set forth by the voluntary AAMA standards focusing on 2604 and 2605. It will cover pretreatment, application, cure and testing as well as potential field failures.

AAMA Performance Requirements for Chrome Phosphate Technology vs. Newer Non-Chrome Aluminum Pretreatment
Justin Girard
Chemetall US, Inc.

Utilizing the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) 2605 standard as a benchmark, this presentation will compare chrome phosphate conversion coatings, and the history thereof, against the recently emerged non-chrome technologies, including both the true rinsable coatings, as well as the no-rinse, dried-in-place (DIP) type processes when applied on aluminum beneath today’s powder coatings.

Presenter: Jeff Hale, Gema USA; David Schimpff, DuBois; John Cole, Parker Ionics; Mike Wittenhagen, Axalta

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR POWDER COATING LINE

Why Control My Powder System?
Jeff Hale
Gema

New technology, software and simple operator process controls can dramatically improve operational costs and improve finish quality.  But many in this industry do not take advantage of the automation and process controls that would allow them to operate at peak performance.  For many companies, poor target distance control and powder management are silent thieves that rob efficiency and profits.  Automation control can be used to improve first pass efficiency as well as address powder management issues, such as the re-handling of oversprayed powder that causes wear and particle abuse leading to reduced efficiency. This presentation will provide an overview of industry trends and capabilities related to automation control, as well as some important do’s and don’ts to ensure successful powder coating.

Troubleshooting Your Modern Cleaning and Pretreatment Process
David Schimpff
DuBois Chemicals

This intermediate level presentation will detail a practiced method for troubleshooting cleaning and pretreatment systems prior to powder coating application.  Emphasis will be placed on root cause analysis, troubleshooting techniques, and appropriate analytical methods to verify success.  The presentation will highlight examples of real world causes and solutions to common (and less common) pretreatment failures and methods to avoid them. 

Preventive Maintenance and Troubleshooting for Powder Coating Systems
John Cole,  Parker Ionics and Mike Wittenhagen, Axalta

Keeping your coating line up and running is essential to your bottom line.  A good preventive maintenance program helps assure maximum uptime of your coating operations.  Understanding organized troubleshooting techniques also reduces downtime and the costs associated with prolonged equipment repair times. This session will focus on preventive maintenance and troubleshooting for powder application equipment to achieve maximum system uptime. This session will present the attendee with a complete understanding of the preventive maintenance requirements of a powder coating application system. Additionally, this presentation will cover detailed application equipment troubleshooting.

Presenter: Chris Merritt, Gema; Sergio Mancini, BCI Surface Technologies

POWDER COATING ALUMINUM SURFACES

Advances in Aluminum Extrusion Powder Application Technology
Chris Merritt
Gema USA Inc.

As the powder application process continues to gain acceptance in the North American market, coaters continue to look for ways to be more cost efficient while producing high quality coated extrusions to meet their user’s expectations. This presentation will provide insight into recently introduced application processes, tools and recovery designs that provide consistent and repeatable application uniformity.  We will also look at ways to facilitate increased color change process flexibility for both horizontal and vertical powder applications.

Pretreatments for Aluminum Metals on Steel Lines
Sergio Mancini
BCI Surface Technologies

How can I achieve high performance standards on aluminum utilizing my current pretreatment capabilities?  This presentation will discuss what is needed to achieve high standards even if you do not have a five or six stage washer system.  It will also show how to implement an all-steel process into one that is capable of also processing aluminum in order to achieve high performance on aluminum substrates so you can expand your market potential.

Presenter: Benise-Dowling & Associates