When my friends and family ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I write about the finishing and coating industry, and then I try in the best way possible to explain to them what it feels like walking into a manufacturing operation like a powder coater or electroplater and sensing the aura of the facility, the vibe, and the nuances that go along with being where the action is.
And yet, no one gets it. They simply don’t understand how products are manufactured and distributed in the U.S. and how hard-working people and machinery churn out what we use and consume all day.
So when I came across Adam Blakeley’s essay on working in a finishing and coating operation, I was so excited to read something that captured the essence of what the industry is all about.
Adam works for MacDermid Enthone Industrial Solutions and is one of the most knowledgeable people I know in the industry. He has written technical articles for me before — a lost art, I tell you! — and spends his many hours in shops all over North America, fine-tuning plating lines, troubleshooting problems, and giving advice and feedback to the many customers that his company serves.
I’m sure reading his essay will give you a deeper insight into what walking into a shop is all about. The smell, the sound, the energy is all-encompassing and something I miss very much, having not been able to get out in the past year.
Thank you, Adam, for pouring your heart and soul into the essay, and I encouraged everyone to read it and then share it with someone else in the industry. It’s very well done.
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Meanwhile, another clap clap clap to Bill Nebiolo from REM Surface Engineering for writing this extremely thorough and riveting “History of Electroplating” in this issue. Bill traces the origins of the plating industry from Europe to the U.S., and he also explains how the different associations came to be.
In fact, April 10 will be the 112th anniversary of the founding of the first electroplating association in the U.S., and Bill goes into great detail to explain how the groups have changed over the years and evolved into what is today the NASF.
Thank you, Bill, for such great work and for sharing this with our readers.
Tim Pennington is Editor-in-Chief of Finishing and Coating, and has covered the industry since 2010. He has traveled extensively throughout North America visiting shops and production facilities, and meeting those who work in the industry. Tim began his career in the newspaper industry, then wound itself between the sports field with the PGA Tour and marketing and communications firms, and finally back into the publishing world in the finishing and coating sector. If you want to reach Tim, just go 
