Kevin Biller Inducted into Powder Coating Institute Hall of Fame

The ChemQuest Group, Inc., a global consulting firm focused on tailored business strategy and optimization, technology acceleration, market intelligence, and M&A advisory services for the specialty materials industry, announced that Kevin Biller, director of ChemQuest Powder Coating Research, was inducted into the Powder Coating Institute (PCI) Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the organization’s annual meeting on May 30.

First issued in 2002, the PCI Hall of Fame Award is granted annually to individuals who have made significant contributions to the Powder Coating Institute and to the powder coating industry as a whole. “Kevin Biller has been a leader in the powder coating industry for nearly five decades, beginning his career in 1978 with the Glidden Paint Company,” said Kevin Coursin, PCI’s executive director, during the induction ceremony. “A holder of multiple patents, he was a pioneer in powder coatings for non-metal substrates and UV-curable technologies. Kevin has been deeply involved in industry education, serving on PCI’s Regulatory and Technical Committees, contributing to the fourth edition of the Powder Coating Handbook, and leading the PCI Scholarship Committee. As technical editor for Powder Coated Tough, he authored numerous articles.”

After leaving Glidden, Biller served in leadership positions for numerous companies over the course of his extensive career. He later established the Powder Coating Research Group, which was acquired by The ChemQuest Group in 2021. Author of the “Ask Joe Powder” column that has appeared in numerous publications around the world, as well as producer of the “Ask Joe Powder” powdcast, he has written over 300 articles on powder coatings. In 2004, he published a handbook entitled Powder Coatings: Foundation for the Novice Formulator.

“I would like to thank the Powder Coating Institute and its board of directors for considering me for this honor, and quite an honor it is,” Biller said. “I learned a very important lesson during my time at Glidden, which was owned by SCM, the corporate conglomerate that also owned the Smith-Corona typewriter company, among others. The lesson was this: Innovation and commercial success was predicated on thinking outside of the box.

“There was no question that Smith-Corona made the very best typewriter in the history of typewriters, but these amazing machines were made obsolete within just a few years as everyone embraced personal computers. This helped me realize that the next generation of industrial coating technology was not going to come from some savvy iteration of a solventborne coating formulation. No, it would be a creation of an upstart, outside-of-the-box technology known as powder coatings. And as they say, the rest is history.”

“Kevin’s dedication to the powder coating industry is second to none,” said Daniel Murad, CEO. “He has worked tirelessly his entire career to advance technologies and broaden opportunities for companies across the powder coating value chain. Thank you to the Powder Coating Institute for recognizing his achievements and commitment with this well-deserved honor.”