"Everything that can be invented already has been invented." These infamous words were proclaimed by Charles H. Duell, the Commissioner of The U.S. Patent Office. The year was 1899. Incredible, simply incredible. If this were true, there would be no automobiles, no air travel, no televisions or PlayStations, no Blackberries or computers, no telephones or microwave ovens.

"Everything that can be invented already has been invented."

These infamous words were proclaimed by Charles H. Duell, the Commissioner of The U.S. Patent Office. The year was 1899. Incredible, simply incredible. If this were true, there would be no automobiles, no air travel, no televisions or PlayStations, no Blackberries or computers, no telephones or microwave ovens.

In our finishing world, alkyds would not have been invented. White lead would be our staple opacifier, and spray equipment would remain a glimmer in some inventor's eye. Waterbased paint technology never would have found its way into a gallon can, UV cure would never have seen the light of day, and the only use of powder would be to pack your shotgun.

This month, we recognize and celebrate the technical achievements of some very clever people in our industry. (See pp. 14-17.) Those honored have created some remarkable technology. In one case, it's the imagination of formulators reaching beyond the convention that UV curable paints only come as a clear coat or a few uninspired colors. Another group of technologists thought they could entirely eliminate the spray process of applying a coating and use film laminates instead...and they've been successful. Some other wily engineers decided to debunk our notion that electron beam curing equipment has to be huge, cumbersome and costly. Other innovators are completely changing the manner in which we manage our process and quality control. They've come up with a device that measures a number of coating parameters automatically without ever coming in contact with the coating surface. Amazing.

Our grand prize winning innovation started as the vision of one man who felt that there must be a higher-quality, more environmentally safe process to create a chrome-like finish for automotive wheels. This has been the Holy Grail for many a powder coating formulator. The system he developed integrates a number of distinct technologies to produce a finish that not only emulates chrome plating, but surpasses it in corrosion resistance without any of its negative environmental impact.

When your imagination congeals as you think that all possible technical frontiers have been blazed, recall not Mr. Duell's immortal words, but those of the famed professional cyclist, Jamie Paolinetti:

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless."