By now, we are all in the blitz of a few industry trade shows that have resurfaced after a one-year hiatus. Time to see old friends, make some new friends and learn ways to better run finishing and coating operations.
The schedule is packed over the next few months:
- FABTECH returns to McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, from Sept. 13-16 with a one-stop shop where you can meet suppliers, see the latest technologies, learn how to increase profits, and discover tools to improve productivity while networking with industry peers.
- The Aluminum Summit is a co-located meeting of the Aluminum Anodizers Council’s 30th Annual Anodizing Conference and the Aluminum Extruders Council’s Management Conference. The event will be from Sept. 14-16 in Nashville.
- SUR/FIN is the primary conference and trade show dedicated specifically to the surface technology industry. It is where leading surface technology companies connect, collaborate, and contribute. The show is from Nov. 1-4 in Detroit.
The last issue we previewed the FABTECH show, and this issue we are previewing the SUR/FIN show as well. You also find the FABTECH preview repeated in this issue, and the SUR/FIN show preview will also run in October as well.
When I started out covering the finishing and coating industry more than 12 years ago, going to these shows was something completely foreign to me. First, I knew hardly anyone in the industry, and I certainly did not know the technology that allowed finishing and coating to be such a vital part of the manufacturing industry.
Second, I was not used to meeting and talking to as many people as I did those first few shows. Walking around and visiting all the booths was a tremendous learning experience for me, the equivalent of drinking water from a firehose.
But it was getting to know the people, asking them about their technology, and getting a better understanding of what they offered and how it helped thousands of finishing and coating operations in North America was a true learning experience.
I can not forget the people who I met at these shows who became friends for life. They helped educate me, they bought me a beer, and they told me essentially all I needed to know about finishing and coating and why it was so important.
I recall once meeting legendary basketball coach Rick Pitino who was keynoting an event once, and he asked me before he went on stage: “What do these people do again?”
I told him that they applied finishing and coating to manufactured parts and made sure those parts were corrosion-resistant or decoratively appealing. His response was quite humorous.
“So they watch paint dry?” Pitino asked with a grin.
Yes, they do. That, and a whole lot more.
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 
