An Interview with Quint Towle, Powder Technology Inc.

Powder Technology Inc. (PTI, Schofield, Wisc.) provides high-performance thermoset powder coatings and related services to agricultural, industrial, defense and power generation markets, among others. PTI was born out of a desire to provide customers with consistent powder products and the company prides itself on consistency. Products Finishing recently sat down with Quint Towle, director of sales and marketing, to hear about the company’s approach and to get his perspective on the current supply chain challenges that finishers are currently coping with.

Would you mind discussing PTI’s background, the types of powder you provide and the markets that your products typically serve?

We’ve been around since ’85, so 35-36 years. We make industrial thermoset powder coating and our products include AAMA2604 and AAMA2605 equivalent powder coatings, zinc-free epoxies, and a flex cure line of epoxies (which allow the same primer to be used from dry on dry all the way through full cure and still get good inter-coat adhesion. We have antimicrobial offerings. We also have CARC (chemical agent resistant coatings) approvals for the military. Our customers are working in automotive, power sports, high-end cabinets, medical, as well as appliances like ranges, stoves and refrigerators. We run a Color Standard Program for OEMs that work with multiple facilities across the globe, keeping color standards within 0.2-0.3 Delta E.

Over the past couple of years, we've invested in a lot of technical expertise — bringing in people who have a wealth of knowledge in terms of hardware, and setting up lines, and powering the whole gamut. The goal is to bring a full-scale solution to a lot of people.

How did you personally get started in powder coating? Did you always work in the industry?

I’ve been with Powder Technology in an official capacity for about six years, but it’s a family-owned business and I was involved from a very young age. After I got out of college, I ended up working in financial services for about 20 years. Before returning to Powder Technology, I spent 16 years on the trading desk at the Royal Bank of Canada where I traded equities and currencies.

As a supplier, what is your take on what’s currently happening with the powder coating supply chain?

It is certainly a challenging environment. As the supply tightens, it not only reduces market inventory but also makes people anxious. PTI has been fortunate enough that we have a fair amount of inventory on consignment, which predated some of this. So, while we don't necessarily have price protection on that, we do have a bit of physical protection in terms of availability.

I believe that all the coatings manufacturers in North America — as well as in Europe — are operating on an allocation basis. It’s not like in the past where if you anticipate prices going up, you just buy some more now. Generally, you’re allocated to within a certain percentage of what would you historically purchase. You might be able to get 10-20 percent more, but you can’t double your normal order.

Also, China is exporting fewer materials, and they’re using more. In the past few months, we’ve seen China buy raw materials from the U.S., which we have never really had to contend with much before.

One of the materials that has been difficult to procure of late is the curing agent TGIC (triglycidyl isocyanurate). Some suppliers have been pushing TGIC-free alternatives to try to meet that demand. What is PTI doing and what are you seeing with regard to customer acceptance of alternatives to TGIC products?

Like other suppliers, PTI also offers alternatives — a TGIC-free polyester. But, most of our customer base has expressed a desire not to change out of TGIC polyester into TGIC-free until it’s absolutely necessary.

We deal with a lot of companies that have pretty stringent coating requirements. The products we make for them have had to go through significant qualification testing and there has been a lot of work done to get these things approved. Once you have that approval, no one likes to make any changes, especially when you're dealing with a company that has a lot of other partners that coat for them.

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Listen to the full On the Line podcast episode “Weathering the Supply Chain Storm,” featuring Quint Towle of Powder Technology Inc. and Michael Guckes of Gardner Intelligence. The episode is currently available for download at pfonline.com/podcast/episode/episode-9-weathering-the-supply-chain-storm.