In this installment of On the Line, Products Finishing features a recent interview from the SUR/FIN 2026 surface finishing industry tradeshow where we spoke with Timothy Gotsick, VP of Technology and Innovation for McDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions (Waterbury, Connecticut), about the impact of current regulations and trade policies on the manufacturing industry. Gotsick discusses the shift away from EV manufacturing in the U.S., challenges posed by changing regulations for PFAS and hexavalent chromium, the increasing use of automation and AI in manufacturing, and ongoing challenges in the industry.
In this installment of On the Line, PF explores use of electrocoat (ecoat) technology for aerospace applications. Two experts from PPG (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) — Robin Peffer, global director of product launch and customer support for aerospace and Jonathan Love, Aerocron commercial support team leader — discuss the use of ecoat technology within the aerospace sector, offer an update on applications where ecoat is currently being used in the market and explain its potential for future aerospace programs and applications.
In this installment of On the Line, Products Finishing explores ERP systems, digitization of workflow and automation. At this year's SUR/FIN surface finishing industry trade show, we had the opportunity to interview Jeffrey Halonen, CEO of Steelhead Technologies (Calumet, Michigan), about the company's work helping job shops digitize their production.
In this latest installment of On the Line, Products Finishing (PF) explores some of the latest trends in electroless nickel (EN) plating, both in terms of challenges as well as innovations and opportunities. At SUR/FIN 2025, PF sat down with two experts from MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions (Waterbury, Connecticut): Douglas Hughes, wear-resistant coatings industry manager and Ambrose Schaefer, global product line manager for EN, to hear their thoughts on this unique area of surface finishing.
The key to staying viable in the face of challenges is diversification. Precision Spray and Coatings (Houston, Texas) got its start providing thermal spray coatings and has since grown its offerings. In the latest installment of On the Line, the company's president John Jenkins discusses Precisions' origins and its expertise in HVOF thermal spray coatings and hard chrome plating for the oil and gas industry, as well as its efforts to diversify into new markets like mining and wastewater. Jenkins recently sat down with us at the SUR/FIN finishing industry trade show to discuss a range of topics including regulatory pressures and the impact of tariffs on raw material costs.
In this latest installment of On the Line, Products Finishing (PF) takes a look back at the industry's past in order to look ahead. PF regional vice president Scott Walker discusses his experiences in the finishing industry, beginning with his early involvement with Modern Metals magazine and his transition to PF in 1996. Walker explores some of the industry's recent history, including improvements brought about by the EPA's Common Sense initiative, as well as current regulatory pressures regarding hexavalent chromium and PFAS chemistry. As the industry navigates a changing manufacturing landscape driven by increased adoption of automation solutions and the evolution of materials and processing methods, Walker underscores the finishing industry's critical role in various sectors, advocating for better public understanding of its contributions.
In this latest installment On the Line, Products Finishing delves into the crucial role of rectifiers in the electroplating process and the importance of industry education with a trend toward increasing implementation of automation solutions. Remington Schieffer, vice president of American CRS Equipment (Escondido, California), offers his insights.
Looking for insights into which events to attend as the tradeshow and conference season ramps up? In this latest installment of On the Line, Products Finishing editors Scott Francis and Lori Beckman offer an overview of upcoming surface finishing industry events including tradeshows, conferences and workshops. Gain a sneek peek into the Parts Cleaning Workshop (co-located with PMTS), Powder Coating Week and the SUR/FIN 2025 surface finishing industry tradeshow.
With this installment of On the Line, PF looks ahead to an important upcoming event for powder coaters — the Powder Coating Institute's (PCI) Powder Coating Week in Orlando, Florida, which will take place April 14-16, 2025. In this podcast interview, PF speaks with PCI executive director Kevin Coursin about industry trends affecting powder coaters today, and what's in store for attendees at this year's Powder Coating Week.
Parts cleaning is a critical factor in achieving quality results in any surface finishing operation. In this installment of On the Line, Products Finishing catches up with John Clark, president of E & J Parts Cleaning Inc. (Waterbury, Connecticut) in a follow-up to a March 2024 profile story about the company's technical cleanliness expertise. PF executive editor Lori Beckman interviews Clark to learn about the company's latest efforts toward its goal of continuous improvement including the addition of new automated vacuum degreaser capabilities and the implementation of a paperless ERP system.
In October 2024, Products Finishing attended FABTECH in Orlando, Florida. The event's Finishing pavilion always offers a great opportunity to get insights into the latest innovations for coaters and finishers, and PF got the chance to catch up with Derek DeGeest, president of DeGeest Corp. and Lesta USA (Tea, South Dakota) to hear about the company's latest developments. The company held a ribbon cutting at FABTECH to announce its partnership with Eurosider (Toscana, Italy), provider of Nitrotherm and Polifluid technologies, which use nitrogen as a carrier instead of compressed air to deliver a more consistent finish to liquid and powder finishing applications, respectively. The solutions eliminate variables such as temperature and humidity in the finishing process and deliver up to 30% on system savings. According to DeGeest, the solution addresses an important step for manual finishing operations looking to introduce more automation. PF's On the Line podcast sat down with DeGeest to discuss trends in finishing automation and the challenges he hopes to address with Eurosider's solutions.
In 2020, Andrew Kossowski, a former U.S. Air Force officer and seasoned tech entrepreneur, decided to embark on a new adventure. He was drawn to a traditional finishing operation known as DHS Enterprises based in Clearwater, Florida — a business that had built a strong reputation over three decades in specialized metal finishing, offering processes like anodizing, chem film, and passivation. Kossowski sought to revamp the veteran- and minority-owned business as Veterans Metal, a state-of-the-art finishing operation by implementing cutting-edge technology and expanding its service capabilities. With a background in quality assurance and testing for military aircraft and experience as a telecommunications executive, Kossowski has brought a unique mix of expertise to his new venture over the past four years. In this installment of Products Finishing's On the Line podcast, we catch up with Kossowski to hear the latest about Veterans Metals' transformation journey and his vision for the what's on the horizon for the company.
Products Finishing recently hosted its Parts Cleaning Conference, co-located with IMTS 2024. In this episode of the podcast, PF Senior Editor Lori Beckman interviews conference co-chair, Darren Williams, professor of physical chemistry and leader of the cleaning research group at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. The pair reflect on highlights from the 2024 conference and discuss industrial parts cleaning trends and current regulations.
New regulations involving PFAS substances are presenting new challenges for manufacturing in all areas, including surface finishing operations. In this installment of On the Line, Products Finishing interviews Louis LeBrun, vice president of sales with Axine Water Technologies, an industrial water and wastewater treatment company that specializes in an electrochemical oxidation technology named ElectraCLEAR that is designed to eliminate PFAS compounds.
In this bonus episode of On the Line, Paul Skelton, president of the NASF Palmetto Southeast Chapter offers an overview of the NASF Palmetto Southeast Chapter 16th Annual Fall Conference — Oct. 9-10, 2024 at Folly Beach, S.C. The theme of this year's conference is "Succession on the Horizon" and the event features brilliant speakers, informative topics on impacting your business and the surface finishing industry, as well as manufacturing.
Recently, Products Finishing attended the SUR/FIN 2024 surface finishing industry trade show, an annual event hosted by the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF, Washington, D.C.). This year at the show, the NASF announced a rebranding aimed at unifying various aspects of the organization, including its educational foundation, as well as its various chapters. In this installment of PF's On the Line podcast, we speak with Vince Noonan, president of the NASF Foundation, president of the Metal Finishers Association of Southern California (MFASC) and vice president of strategic operations at Sheffield Platers (San Diego, Calif.) about some of these changes and what they mean for the finishing industry.
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.
In this episode of Product's Finishing On the Line podcast, Chandler Mancuso, technical director with MacDermid Envio discusses updating your wastewater treatment system and implementing materials recycling solutions to increase efficiencies, control costs and reduce environmental impact.
Products Finishing recently attended the Metal Finishing Association of California's annual legislation day event, which provides a forum for finishing operations in the state to voice their concerns to government officials. In this installment of On the Line, we learn more about the initiative and the key issues for California-based finishers. OTL spoke with Bryan Leiker, executive director of the MFACA and legislative advocate Jerry Desmond, who works as the legal advisor for the MFACA. Leiker is also vice president of K&L Anodizing (Burbank, California) a 75-year-old family business, and has spent his career working to educate legislators about the efforts of the metal finishing community.
Recently Products Finishing traveled to Karlsruhe, Germany to attend Paint Expo 2024 and get a global perspective of trends in industrial coatings and to learn about the latest technologies. In this episode of On the Line, Gardner Business Media brand vice president for finishing and valve media Todd Luciano and PF editor in chief Scott Francis discuss some of the takeaways from the visit.