Episode 46: Richard Lynch, Timothy Gotsick; MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions

In the latest episode of Products Finishing's On the Line podcast episode, recorded at the SUR/FIN 2024 finishing industry tradeshow, we had the opportunity to sit down with executives a MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions to get their take on some of the latest trends in surface finishing from finishing solutions enabling various aspects of EVs to the latest sustainability and regulatory concerns.

Join us for industry insights from MacDermid's senior global V.P. Richard Lynch and V.P. of technology Timothy Gotsick. 

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Read an excerpt

PF: So what trends and topics are you most excited about this year's event?

Richard Lynch (RL):  I make it a point to come to SUR/FIN every year, no matter where I am in the world. While there's the content portion of being here and a chance to see the latest technologies, for me, this is where I'm able to see and visit with a cross-section of our customers and make sure that our business continues to be aligned to the needs of our customers.

Ultimately, what's important to our customers is what's important to us. We operate with a series of short, medium, and long-term strategic objectives, and we align and realign those every year. That is how we decide how to deploy capital and how we invest in resources. These types of events provide a great opportunity to speak directly with our customers and ensure that we're properly aligned.

PF: Thinking about developed applications and some of the newest trends in the industry, EVs are occupying a growing portion of the automotive market. I’d like to hear your thoughts on how that's headed, what finishers need to be thinking about, as well as the mix of parts that are necessary for driving these trends forward?

RL: This is a very exciting time. The automotive space, which has a long legacy of being fairly conservative, particularly on the western OEM side, is in disarray. Right now, we’re seeing a lot of change.

In the finishing industry, we're adept in aligning with the end market and with end user needs. Most of our customers are accustomed to working with their customers every day to find innovative solutions. But this is different because we're solving for what is really an unknown end state; the technology is still evolving, and people's designs are evolving. What we've found is that the OEMs and tiers have come to rely on our input, and we’re investing more and more resources in that area. Times of change are exciting because they bring opportunity, and I can say that in my 35 years in the business, I have never seen the level of new opportunity generation that's happening right now. The opportunities that we've developed with our customers, and the programs that we are working on with the OEMs and tiers are magnified, and that is incredible. Customers who are more progressive and are open to talking about new technology and new applications are the ones that are benefiting, and will continue to benefit over the next several years.

The rate of EV adoption is different all over the world, and I believe that our position in the Chinese market, for example, has really helped us. Over the last several years, Chinese OEMs have gone from a 5% market share to a 60% market share, and we're right in the middle of that with a full team dedicated to working with Chinese OEMs and tiers. The knowledge and insight that we've gained over these last several years is helping to inform how we can support our customers all over the world now and into the future.