With the theme, “The Power of E,” ELECTROCOAT 2008, held in Indianapolis, IN, in May, featured two and a half days of intensive technical presentations and discussions. David Wolf, Focus Factory manager, and Phil Hopper, e-coat technician, Hayes-Lemmerz International, received the “Best End-User Paper Award,” while Tony Cimorelli, Parker Process Advanced Filtration, and John Martin, PPG Industries, both won George E. F. Brewer awards for the development, application and marketing promotion of e-coat technology.

With the theme, “The Power of E,” ELECTROCOAT 2008, held in Indianapolis, IN, in May, featured two and a half days of intensive technical presentations and discussions. David Wolf, Focus Factory manager, and Phil Hopper, e-coat technician, Hayes-Lemmerz International, received the “Best End-User Paper Award,” while Tony Cimorelli, Parker Process Advanced Filtration, and John Martin, PPG Industries, both won George E. F. Brewer awards for the development, application and marketing promotion of e-coat technology.

New to this year’s programming was an opening keynote address each morning. The first day began with Dr. M. Ray Perryman, founder and president of The Perryman Group, an economic and financial analysis firm. His message to the industry was that although our economy experiences highs and lows over time, it is one of resilience and longevity so expect an upward swing in the coming months. New technology and innovation will play a huge role in the success of our industry, not only on a large scale, but through small-scale process improvements and innovation. Mr. Dan Ruble, business development manger – Asia Pacific opened the second day with exciting insight into the economic expansion in Asia and the significant potential for many new markets for e-coat within Asia. The final address was given by Matt Kirchner, chief executive officer of American Finishing Resources, LLC. In his thought-provoking, entertaining and informative style, Kirchner explored the most critical steps to ensuring that the benefits brought by the implementation of a lean culture are enjoyed and built upon years into the future.

The remainder of each full day was filled with a combined opportunity for over 40 options for content with selections, including basics of e-coat, process improvements, advances in electrocoating, troubleshooting, lean aspects of e-coat, plant operations, environmental impact of e-coat, system management and workplace safety.

In the ECOAT 2008 Exhibit Rooms, visitors were able to see demonstrations of products, learn about new products and services and network with colleagues - all while enjoying themselves in a relaxed and entertaining atmosphere. New this year, a tabletop room provided a home for 20 additional exhibitors. The tabletop exhibits provided the same networking opportunity and sharing of products and services by the exhibiting companies, as well as food and beverage; however, they were housed together in one section of the ballroom.

Attendance for ELECTROCOAT 2008 was comparable to ELECTROCOAT 2006. According to The Electrocoat Association, attendance was bolstered from the foreign market by obtaining representation from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, and South America.

A 2008 Conference Proceedings book or a CD-ROM of all the technical papers presented can be obtained by calling Anne Von Moll at 800.950.8020, ext. 298, or 513.527.8800. For more information, visitwww.electrocoat.org.