Published 6/15/2023

Highlights from SUR/FIN 2023

Products Finishing offers a recap of some of the topics that were top of mind at the SUR/FIN 2023 finishing industry trade show.

Scott Francis

Editor-In-Chief, Gardner Business Media

The Products Finishing crew was very busy at the show. We recorded several exhibitor videos (be sure to check these out via our social media feeds), and conducted several interviews that will be released in the coming weeks. I also had the opportunity to introduce one of the keynote speakers, Sharon Miller, a senior research scientist with the NASA John Glenn Research Center. Miller delivered a fascinating talk on the role that coatings play in space exploration and the work that goes into protecting spacecraft components from the harsh environments of space where atomic oxygen, radiation, debris and extreme temperatures contribute to degradation.

Some of the biggest topics of conversation at this year’s SUR/FIN revolved around environmental responsibility and sustainability, automation, emerging technologies and workforce challenges. In the wake of California’s decision to phase out the use of hexavalent chromium for finishing operations in the state, discussions of improvements in trivalent chromium technology were a big topic of discussion.

Christian Richter (left); Jeff Hannapel (right) receive the NASF Presidential Award.

NASF Awards

Christian Richter and Jeff Hannapel of the Policy Group representing the NASF on regulatory policy matters in Washington, D.C., gave an insightful update on the latest on the EPA’s metal finishing PFAS effluent standards initiative, in addition to an overview of regulatory trends in the industry, and the NASF’s work to collaborate with industry sectors. The pair were awarded the NASF Presidential Award at the NASF Awards Ceremony in recognition of their advocacy work on behalf of the finishing industry.

In addition to the Presidential Award, the NASF Awards Ceremony presented the following awards:

Patrick Hayden, Unimetal Surface Finishing Inc. — The Silvio C. Taormina Award
George Gilbert, Gilbert & Jones Inc. — The August P. Munning Award
Timothy Hall Ph.D., Faraday Technology — Scientific Achievement Award
Peter Tremmel, Accu-Labs Inc. — Award of Merit
Tom Laken IV, Finishing Plating Services — Award of Merit

See our interview with George Gilbert below.

Top Shops

Following the NASF Awards Ceremony, Products Finishing unveiled the qualifying shops in the 2023 Top Shops Benchmarking Survey. See the full list of qualifying shops below and check out the latest installment of PF’s Top Shops Insider column (page 10) to learn more about this year’s first-place ranking shops in each category:

Triplex Plating — Electroplating/Anodizing
JIT Powder Coating — Liquid/Powder Coating

Qualifying Top Shops for Plating/Anodizing

Ace Anodizing and Impregnating, Inc. (Hillside, Ill.)
AeroDynamics, Inc. (Seabrook, N.H.)
American Metal Coatings (Mentor, Ohio)
American Tinning & Galvanizing Company (Erie, Pa.)
Avtec Finishing Systems Inc. (New Hope, Minn.)
ChromeTech of Wisconsin, Inc. (Franklin, Ind.)
Electroplating & Surface Engineering SA DE CV (Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico)
Electro-Spec Inc. (Franklin, Ind.)
Great Lakes Metal Finishing, Inc. (Erie, Penn.)
Hohman Plating, LLC (Dayton, Ohio)
Incertec (Fridley, Minn.)
Luke Engineering (Wadsworth, Ohio)
Lustrous Metal Coatings, Inc. (Canton, Ohio)
Makplate Inc. (Gilroy, Calif.)
Microfinish (Saint Louis, Mo.)
Miller Plating, LLC (Medina, Ohio)
Miramar Metal Processing, Inc. (San Diego, Calif.)
Perfection Industrial Finishing (Tucson, Ariz.)
Plateco Inc. (Reedsburg, Wisc.)
Plating Technology (Dayton, Ohio)
Professional Plating Inc. (Brillion, Wisc.)
Recubrimientos Metalicos de Mexico, S.A. DE C.V. (Mexico City, Mexico)
Reliable Plating Works, Inc. (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Roy Metal Finishing Company (Piedmont, S.C.)
Surface Technology, Inc. (Ewing, N.J.)
Surtronics, Inc. (Raleigh, N.C.)
Temecula Quality Plating, Inc. (Temecula, Calif.)
The Electrolizing Corporation of Ohio (Cleveland, Ohio)
Theta Plate, Inc. (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Triplex Plating (Michigan City, Ind.)
Twin City Plating (Minneapolis, Minn.)
UniMetal Surface Finishing (Thomaston, Colo.)
Varland Plating (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Qualifying Top Shops for Liquid/Powder Coating

A&A Powder Coatings (Hunt Valley, Md.)
Ace Anodizing and Impregnating, Inc. (Hillside, Ill.)
All-Color Powder Coating, Inc. (Oregon, Wisc.)
Associated Finishing Inc. (Mankato, Minn.)
Axis Peinture (Brossard, QC, Canada)
Colourfast Corp. (Concord, ON, Canada)
Freedom Finishing, Inc. (Benton Harbor, Mich.)
Georgia Powder Coating (Gainesville, Ga.)
JIT Powder Coating Company (Farmington, Minn.)
Keystone Koating LLC (Lititz, Penn.)
Lonestar Corrosion Services, Inc. (Houston, Texas)
Mettler Toledo LLC (Columbus, Ohio)
Micron Metal Finishing (Bridgeview, Ill.)
Militex Coatings Inc. (London, ON, Canada)
Perfection Industrial Finishing (Tucson, Ariz.)
Performance Powder Coating, LLC (Longwood, Fla.)
Professional Plating Inc. (Brillion, Wisc.)
Progressive Coating (Chicago, Ill.)
Pro-Kote, LLC (Jackson, Tenn.)
Recubrimientos Metalicos de Mexico, S.A. DE C.V. (Mexico City, Mexico)
Reliable Powder Coating (San Leandro, Calif.)
Roy Metal Finishing Company (Piedmont, S.C.)
Safeway Services of Rockford Inc. (Rockford, Ill.)
Surgical Coatings (Sedalia, Colo.)
Westside Finishing Co., Inc. (Holyoke, Mass.)
Winona Powder Coating, Inc. (Etna Green, Ind.)