Eastern Coatings Show Offers Educational and Networking Opportunities

Hosted by the Philadelphia Society for Coatings Technology, the New England Society for Coatings Technology and the Metropolitan New York Coatings Association, the Eastern Coatings Show offers educational and technical presentations to create an understanding of the theory, science,  manufacturing and marketing of coatings.

Held every other year, this year’s Eastern Coatings Show was May 16-18 at Harrah’s in Atlantic City, NJ. The show began with a poolside welcome reception, where attendees and exhibitors had the opportunity to network in a relaxed setting.

The show commenced with a keynote presentation from Dan Calkins, chairman & CEO of Benjamin Moore. His presentation, “Leading a Business Through Challenging Times,” focused on the measures his company took to ensure employee safety, as well as growing the company during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presentation, Panel Discussion, Awards

The Eastern Coatings Show featured 24 presentations covering three concurrent tracks. The first day the tracks were Achieving High Performance in Industrial Coatings, Coating Technologies for Improved Lifestyles and Formulation Improvement with Additive Technology. The final day of the show featured tracks on Driving Sustainable Coatings with Chemistry, Emerging Technologies and Formulation Improvement with Additive Technology.

After lunch there was a panel discussion, “Where Do We Go from Here? The Future of the Coatings Industry,” which was comprised of Raymond Fernando of California Polytechnic State University, Dean Webster of North Dakota State University, George Pilcher of ChemQuest and Amanda Andrews of Michelman.

The Rick Mazzariello Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by Bruce Schimmel, of Superior Materials and president of the Eastern Coatings Show to Bob Whitely of JNS-Smithchem. The Pflaumer Brothers Outstanding Paper Award was given to Ingrid Meier for her paper, “Novel Silica Particle Technology for High Durability Matte Wood Coatings.”

For the second time, the Eastern Coatings Show hosted a networking event, Business Woman in Paint & Coatings. This event offered both technical and marketing professionals the opportunity to meet their peers and exchange ideas.

Positive Reactions

The Show organizers, as well as exhibitors were pleased with the quality of the presentations, as well as the traffic at their booths.

President of the Eastern Coatings Show, Bruce Schimmel said, “The Eastern Coatings Show was a great success. Over 1300 people attended the conference which included a Welcoming Reception at Harrah’s indoor pool along with an informative Keynote Address by Dan Calkin’s (Chairman and CEO) OF Benjamin Moore. We are very proud and grateful for the Industry support.”

“This ECS was the best for my company (JNS-Smithchem) so far,” said Bob Whitely, EVP, JNS-Smithchem. “We had several suppliers and customers visiting and the show provided ample opportunites, with the welcoming reception and exhibit hours, for us to meet with them. I though Dan Caulkins’ keynote was relevant to just about everyone there and the panel  and the panel discusssion on the future of coatings was excellent. We are looking forward to the 2025 show.”

“Eastern seemed to have a strong attendance with people anxious to stop and talk to us,” said Bob Ruckle, global marketing and sales director at Siltech. “This is the fourth show I’ve been to this year, all have been strong.”

Mike Manzer, director of sales – NA, Industrial Microbial Control, Arxada noted that the Eastern Coatings Show is an excellent venue for connecting with customers and colleagues. “We enjoyed the opportunity to continue sharing our unique story, and the benefits that Arxada offers customers. Built on the powerful legacies of Troy Corporation and LSI, Arxada offers a broad portfolio of product brands that customers know and trust, augmented by enhanced services and support.”

“Engaging technical presentations, and ample time to meet with clients and prospects at our booth made this year’s ECS the best yet,” said Michael Rossomando, president, Pan Technology,

“The Eastern Coatings Show was important to us as we introduced the new Astrad pigment dispersion line to customers in North America,” said Jim Wagner, marketing communicaiton manager, Penn Color, Hatfiield, PA. “The quality of the people who vistied our booth was excellent, and we’re very optimisitc about Astrad’s potential after the show, particularly for the industrial coatings market.”