American Coatings Show & Conference 2012 sets new records

According to the organizers, the American Coatings Association and Vincentz Network, each of the biennial events has increased in attendance, thanks to a simple formula: connecting the world’s leading suppliers with the decision makers in the American coatings industry. The presentation of three important industry awards rounded off the event around developments in coatings, paints, sealants, construction chemicals, and adhesives in North America.

Exhibitors from 19 countries (2010: 17) displayed a comprehensive range of products on more than 91,000 net square feet of exhibit space (2010: 68,100 square feet) of all aspects of paint and coating formulation during the show held from 8 – 10 May 2012 at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis. Companies from abroad accounted for 35 % of the exhibitors, and in addition to the US, leading countries represented at the show included China, Germany, Canada, India, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Turkey.

The keynote speakers of the conference this year emphasized the ties between science and industry at the plenary session. More than 1,000 attendees learned at the conference from 7 – 9 May 2012 about the most recent research results and industrial developments in 16 thematically structured sessions – among them topics like the latest developments in smart and functional coatings.

The American Coatings Award, presented by the American Coatings Association and Vincentz Network, honors the most outstanding conference paper. This year, Dr. Antony van Dyk of Dow Coating Materials and Dr. Alan Nakatani from Dow Chemical received the award for their paper “Shear Rate Dependent Structure of Polymer Stabilized TiO₂ Dispersions“

The Roon Award, sponsored by the Coatings Industry Education Foundation, recognizes exceptional technical papers in the protective coatings field. The 1^st place went to Marshall Ming, Georgia Southern University, for “Smart Coatings for Self-Healing Corrosion Protection”, 2^nd place to Thomas Nelson, North Dakota State University, for “Catalyzed Crosslinking of Highly-Functional Bio-Based Resins”.

Dr. Stuart G. Croll, chair of the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at North Dakota State University, was recognized with the J. Mattiello Memorial Lecture Award for his  contributions to science, technology, and engineering related to the coatings industry.

The next regularly scheduled American Coatings Show & Conference will take place on 7 – 10 April 2014 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA, USA.