In this issue, we recognize the companies that are changing the landscape of the finishing industry. A survey of recent innovation in the field was conducted over the last few months. Numerous nominations were submitted from a variety of sources. A list of more than 20 technical candidates was reviewed by Finishing Today's editorial advisory board. The board members were instructed to rank the top five candidates they felt represented the most innovative developments over the last year.

Gary M. Marchwick was employed by Sherwin Williams and Glidden Corp. prior to his employment at Ferro Corp. While working with Ferro, Gary held the positions of area manager for both the north central and western regions of the Powder Coating Division, business development manager for the Industrial Coating Group, national accounts manager in automotive coatings and team leader of the midwest region in the Powder Coating Division. He was active in North American sales and marketing which includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and also handled special assignments in Japan and China.

"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.

The Kansas City Society for Coatings Technology has issued a call for papers for its technical symposium, "The Future is Green," to be held March 20, 2007, at Harrah's Hotel and Casino in North Kansas City, MO.

The American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society (AESF), the Metal Finishing Suppliers Association (MFSA) and the National Association of Metal Finishers (NAMF) have overwhelmingly approved the reorganization of their organizations.

Matrix Metrologies, Inc. has introduced a new line of micro-beam XRF tools for compliance testing and monitoring of prohibitive metals for the European Union directives RoHS/WEEE.

IST METZ, along with several partners, has established a UV coatings application center in Cleveland, OH. The center allows customers to spray a range of liquid or powder coatings with a variety of spray guns, including conventional air spray, high-volume low-pressure (HVLP), turbine-powered HVLP and rotary atomizers.

The Chemical Coaters Association International (CCAI) Northern Ohio will meet on October 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott on Rockside Road and 1-77 to discuss a new paint recycling program pioneered by Polyflow Corp., Akron, OH.

The board of directors of RPM International Inc. has elected Ronald A. Rice as executive vice president and chief operating officer; P. Kelly Tompkins as executive vice president and chief administrative officer; Paul G. Hoogenboom as senior vice president - manufacturing and operations, and chief information officer; and Stephen J. Knoop as senior vice president - corporate development.

Atlas Weathering Services Group (AWSG), a division of Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC, has added a high-performance UV/Vis/NIR system PerkinElmer Lambda 950 Spectrophotometer to its optics lab.