PPG Vice President Delivers Keynote Address at ECOAT 18

Kevin Braun, PPG vice president, industrial coatings, Americas, will deliver the keynote address for the opening session of ECOAT18, the biennial conference of The Electrocoat Association, which takes place April 24-26 at the Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort in Tampa, Fla.

As a Gold-level sponsor of the event, PPG also will exhibit its full array of integrated substrate-protection solutions. Six PPG electrocoat (e-coat) technical experts will play leadership roles in the conference.

Braun’s keynote address, titled “Major Evolving Trends in the Coatings Industry and Their Impact of Future Coatings Needs,” will review the convergence of two megatrends – digital transformation and the future of mobility – and the opportunities they present to the coatings industry. Specifically, his speech will examine how coatings manufacturers will need to evolve beyond developing products that prevent corrosion and provide color. They also must create materials that help functionalize a rapidly emerging mobility ecosystem.  


Visitors to the PPG display will find information about the following three new products the company has engineered to enhance substrate protection: 

• PPG POWERCRON 9100HE coating, a high-edge, cationic epoxy offering excellent corrosion resistance in an advanced formulation that is free of heavy metals and offers low volatile organic compounds (VOCs);  
• PPG Powercron 160 coating, a high film-build anionic epoxy-based product; and  
• PPG ULTRAX Metal Conditioner 261, a neutral descaler engineered to facilitate the processing of mixed metal parts and assemblies on the same production line. 

PPG also will highlight PPG DRAGONHIDE ZRE finish, which unites a zinc-rich basecoat with PPG’s e-coat topcoats to exceed automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) requirements for corrosion resistance.
Six PPG representatives will lead panel discussions or conduct educational sessions as part of the ECOAT18 technical program: 

• Gary Orosz, PPG application process manager, substrate protection, will cover the basics of e-coat as part of an all-day seminar titled “ECOAT Boot Camp 101” on April 24 at 8:30 a.m.
   
• John Zbiegien, PPG business development manager, industrial coatings, will moderate a four-person panel of industry experts on April 25 at 10:25 a.m. The 90-minute discussion is titled “Pretreatment and Paint Considerations for Processing Mixed Metal and Substrates.”
   
• Amy Harrison, PPG development chemist, will present a learning session titled “Introduction of Acrylic Electrocoat Applications and Advantages” on April 25 at 3:30 p.m.
   
• James Gezo, PPG platform manager, substrate protection, will lead the “ECOAT Boot Camp 201” on process contamination on April 25 at 4:30 p.m. 
   
• Thor Lingenfelter, PPG technical supervisor, electrocoat, will join Orosz to lead an educational program titled “Increasing Line Speed: A Chemist’s and Engineer’s Views” on April 26 at 1:30 p.m.; and 
   
• Brian Anderson, PPG technical service chemist, will present “Descaling: Challenges of Processing Zinc and Aluminum Substrates” on April 26 at 2:45 p.m