2003 Coating Show Wrap-Up

The Coating Show continues to attract a diverse cross-section of the industry. According to Ms. Goyer, a high percentage of attendees this year were new to the event. 69.78% of pre-registrants did not attend Powder Coating 2002, and 65.99% did not attend Coating 2001.

Midday, on October 30, 2003, the doors closed on Coating 2003, marking the conclusion of the successful three-day event.

Goyer Management—the company that manages both the Coating and Powder Coating Shows—indicates that there were approximately 3,300 attendees at the show. That’s an increase of 400 attendees over the 2002 Powder Coating Show and 1,200 people more than the 2001 Coating Show, which came on the heels of the September 11 terrorist attacks. “Both the quantity and quality of attendees went up,” said Anne Goyer, president of Goyer Management.

Ms. Goyer cited a number of factors in the show’s success. Not only does the industry appear to be in the initial stages of an economic recovery, but Indianapolis has proven itself an ideal venue due to its proximity to Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and other manufacturing havens. And because part of the show’s focus is on new and emerging technologies, it attracted anyone who was seeking ways to improve the processes they employ in their plant or job shop.

For Smart Manufacturing Group’s Dale VanDyk, a first-time attendee, the show was an opportunity to familiarize himself with the industry. “I’ve only been involved in the [powder coating] industry since June 2003, so this was a chance for me to learn a bit more about the industry,” said Mr. VanDyk. “Primarily, I was able to learn a lot about the importance of parts cleaning and some of the different cleaning technologies available to me."

For Mr. VanDyk, the show also played an important role in a major buying decision for his company. “We’ve been entertaining the idea of installing an automatic line for a while now. I did a lot of research on different suppliers before the show, but [Coating 2003] gave me a chance to get in front of each of the candidates in person, one last time.” Mr. VanDyk indicated that, as a result of his participation in the show, his company cemented its decision on which supplier to use for the automatic line.

Sponsored by ten industry associations, the Coating Show was kicked-off by a keynote presentation from Kevin Butt, the Assistant General Manager of Body Engineering for Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America. Mr. Butt spoke about various trends in the automotive finishing industry and addressed issues such as manufacturing efficiency and environmental compliance (see PF’s interview with Mr. Butt online ).

Conference attendees were treated to more than 60 conference sessions, covering a wide range of finishing technologies, including liquid coating, powder coating, electrocoating, plating, porcelain enameling, vacuum coating and UV/EB curing. In addition to providing an overview of various coating technologies, conference sessions offered coverage of business and management issues, pollution control topics and the emergence of new technologies.

On top of the conference sessions and trade show exhibition, Coating 2003 featured custom coater round-table discussions, a 5K walk/run event, prize giveaways and tours of several area coating facilities.

The Coating Show, a biennial event, returns to Indianapolis in September of 2005. In the meantime, Powder Coating 2004 will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina between September 21-23, 2004 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

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COATING 2003 SPONSORS

• Air & Waste Management Association
• Chemical Coaters Association International
• Metal Finishing Suppliers' Association
• Porcelain Enamel Institute
• Radtech International North America
• The Electrocoat Association
• Society of Vacuum Coaters
• Powder Coating Institute
• National Paint & Coatings Association
• National Association of Metal Finishers
• Aluminum Anodizers Council
(Supporting Sponsor)