“We’ve had some high quality leads so far and a lot of
new contacts,” said Jeff Norris, platform manager, hyperdispersants for Lubrizol Advanced Materials. “Attendees
are asking specific questions, which is good.”
Patrick Heraty Jr., sales manager, Midwest, Tego Coating
Additives & Specialty Resins, said his company had good traffic.
“We are meeting with many formulators who are looking to
adapt their energy curable products to meet their customers’
needs,” Mr. Heraty said.
Sue Jaszkowski, marketing communication manager for
BASF, said that Rad Tech has been an ideal setting to showcase
the combined capabilities of BASF and Johnson Polymer.
WOOD EXPERTS DISCUSSED UV FINISHING FOR
WOOD APPLICATIONS AT RADTECH 2008
Rad Tech’s end-user session dedicated to the wood industry,
“UV Wood Finishing & Building Products,” was sponsored
by Wood & Wood Products Magazine and featured a full
day of experts highlighting the benefits of using UV/EB
coatings for a variety of wood coatings applications.
After a brief introduction by moderator Don Hart, co-chair of the wood focus group for Rad Tech and technical
service manager, Mid-America Protective Coatings, the
first speaker of the day was Kyle Sass, co-chair of the
wood focus group for Rad Tech and group leader, wood and
plastic coatings, BASF Corporation. He presented,
“Overview of UV Coatings Technology.”
“UV cure has many advantages including excellent
film properties and performance,” Sass said. “UV/EB
coatings also have huge environmental advantages as
well. It really is a great technology.”
Next Mid-America’s Hart and Doug DeLong of DDU
Enterprises shared the podium and presented, “Overview
of UV Curing Equipment—Not All Lamps are Created
Equal (especially UV lamps).” DeLong began by addressing the general lack of knowledge about how UV light
works. “UV lamps are very different from ordinary
lamps,” he said. “I describe them as tiny little suns. That’s
how strong they are. It is important to match the right
lamp to the specific coating chemistry involved.”
Hart took over and shared some commercial examples of how UV technology is being used in the market.
During their presentation, “UV 101 For Contractors,”
George Wakalopulos, president, and Christy Dennis, marketing director, Adastra Technologies, Inc., discussed what
it takes for contractors to succeed in curing with UV.
Dennis began by discussing key aspects of the process.
“Contractors react shocked when seeing the UV coating
process for first time,” she said. “To be successful it takes
knowledge, the right equipment and the right coating for the
job. UV coatings offer good adhesion properties, appearance,
a long life, are cost effective and are environmentally friendly. Combining the right equipment and coatings is what
makes the magic of the UV coating process happen.”
“The show has been going well,” Jaszkowski said. “The traffic has been nice and steady, and interest has been spread out
among different applications and markets. For us, it has been
good to integrate our Johnson Polymer line into the BASF legacy lines. It’s a new market for Johnson Polymer, so we’re doing
a lot of learning. We’ve also been integrating our R&D efforts,
which is allowing us to utilize the best of both worlds to create
new technologies.”
Following up on this year’s show, Rad Tech North America
announced that its next major show, uv.eb West 2009, is
scheduled for Feb. 17-18 in Los Angeles, CA. In addition,
Rad Tech 2010 will be held May 23-26 in Baltimore, MD. CW
From left to right: Charles Schwab, sales representative, Gemini
Coatings; Christy Dennis, marketing director, Adastra Technologies,
Inc.; George Wakalopulos, president, Adastra Technologies, Inc.;
Douglas DeLong, DDU Enterprises; Kyle Sass, group leader, wood
and plastic coatings; Donald Hart, technical service manager, Mid-America Protective Coatings, Inc.; Douglas Hatch, vice president of
engineering, PB&H Moulding Corporation.
Next up was Charles Schwab, sales representative, Gemini
Coatings who presented “Repair of UV Finished Coatings.”
“Touch up and repair is all about options and less is
more,” Schwab said. “Spend the least amount of time
with the least amount of products as possible to ensure
success. Base color, level, texture, grain lines and sheen
are the five points of a good repair.”
The last presentation of the morning came from Rita
Loof of RadTech International North America. In her
presentation, “Environmental/Regulatory Issues for
End Users,” Loof discussed Rad Tech’s role in working
with regulators in promoting UV/EB technology.
After breaking for lunch, the session continued with
a presentation from PB&H Moulding Corporation by
Douglas Hatch, vice president of engineering. The presentation, “End User Perspective on UV for Mouldings,”
gave audience members a detailed look at how PB&H
successfully implemented a UV system.
