The 2017 Eastern Coatings Show was held at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, NJ on May 15–17. Approximately 1300 attended the show, with an estimated total of 500 attending the two-day technical conference with three concurrent tracks covering UV curing, resin technology, additives, colors and pigments, pigment dispersions, functional fillers and resins. The program also included a poolside opening reception, 150 exhibitors, short course, and prestigious awards.
Awards
Members of the Eastern Coatings Show board of directors honored Rick Mazzariello, president, Enrichem Specialties, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, Pflaumer Brothers of Ewing, NJ sponsored an award to recognize the top two technical papers showing the most outstanding technical innovation at this year’s Eastern Coatings Show.
The 1st place winner of a Pflaumer Innovation Award was Bob Lin, applications manager, Evonik, for his presentation, “Novel Synthetic Silica Matting Agent for Polyaspartic Coatings.” His paper highlighted a specially engineered synthetic silica matting agent that is ideal for matting polyaspartic systems. This silica technology is compared to other silica matting agent types of various manufacturing processes, physical properties, and treatment chemistries. The results provide an understanding of the effects of silica in these coatings and demonstrate the advantages of this unique matting agent technology in polyaspartic systems.
The 2nd place Pflaumer Innovation Award was given to Paul Fithian, sales manager, Brueggemann Chemical U.S. Inc., for his paper, “Using Redox Reactions in Emulsion Polymerization to Reduce Free Monomer After the Main Polymerization.” Fithian noted that the ability to start polymerization at lower temperature and allowing the reaction to heat adiabatically may offer shorter cycle times and cleaner reactions. It is also expected that the lower temperature polymerization will result in a more linear, higher molecular weight emulsion polymer, which should improve performance.
Keynote Speaker
Another highlight was the Keynote presentation by Bruce W. Uhlman, manager—Applied Sustainability, at BASF. He discussed the importance of sustainability as it impacts the environment, economy, and society. Uhlman stressed that in order to advance sustainability goals, specific areas need to be examined, including strategy and organization; assets and operations; business and innovation; employees and engagement; and stakeholders and communications.
Uhlman partners with BASF’s many businesses and customers to help them understand and measure sustainability throughout their value chain. He also assists with the integration of the results of sustainability studies into their strategic decision making processes and stakeholder communications.
About the Eastern Coatings Federation
The Eastern Coatings Federation, Inc. is a corporation founded by the Metropolitan New York Coatings Association (MNYCA), the Philadelphia Society of Coatings Technology (PSCT) and the New England Society of Coatings Technology (NESCT) to serve the coatings industry on a broader national basis exceeding their regional orientations. The Eastern Coatings Show, sponsored by the organization, is a biennial event.