CoatingsPro offers an in-depth look at coatings based on case studies, successful business operation, new products, industry news, and the safe and profitable use of coatings and equipment.
Issue link: http://coatingspromag.epubxp.com/i/766770
92 JANUARY 2017 COATINGSPROMAG.COM of Industry Insight YEAR S Editor's note: We asked f ive ex per ts — contractor, inspector, invest igator, manufacturer, and specif ier — to answer a few quest ions per taining to the past, present, and f uture of the coat ings industr y. T hese answers are excer pts; he ex per ts shared many insights into the world of coat ings, and we couldn't f it them all here. If you're interested in " hear ing" more of the conversa- t ion, head on over to the website at w w w.coat ingspromag.com. What do you think has been the biggest change in the coatings or contracting industr y over the past 15 years? D. Terr y Greenfield, pr incipa l consul- tant at CorroMetr ics Ser v ices, Inc., succinctly said, "Greater ex pecta- tions in per for mance." He continued, "I think there is an ex pectation of the contractor being the ex pert and 'a ll-know ing.' T hat can create a diffi- cult situation for the contractor. I've had situations that involve litigation due to problems w ith the coatings insta llation, and the ow ner's response was, 'I hired them to do the work; they are the ex perts, and a ll the blame for failure lies w ith the contractor.' T his can be a difficult situation for the contractor. Responsibilit y should rest w ith all parties of the project in mak ing sure the r ight mater ia ls are specified a ll the way through award- ing the bid responsibly for a pr ice that the work can actua lly be accom- plished correctly." Mu r phy Ma h a f fe y, d i rec tor of i nter n at ion a l sa les for Poly u ret h a ne Mac h i ner y Cor porat ion (PMC), sa id t he big gest c h a nge h a s to do w it h t he m ater i a l s. " Poly u rea s ystem c hem is - t r y a nd equ ipment tec h nolog y h ave been ga me - c h a ngers. T he tec h nolog y h a s sig n i f ic a nt ly m at u red a nd is now t he best solut ion for m a ny coat i ngs appl ic at ions — even some where t here wa s no solut ion." Marc Chavez, technica l d irector at the Seatt le of f ice of Perk ins + Wi l l, saw a combination: "Changes in the chemistr y avai lable and earlier and g reater genera l contractor involve - ment at early stage desig n." T he key words there are genera l contractor. "Unfor tunately, not early involve - ment of the coating contractor who sti l l gets ' hard bid ' f rom the genera l, which is a shame as a l l of the trade subs, whi le w rest ling w ith new products, are the only people who completely understand what they are apply ing / lay ing / bui ld ing. We need their ex per tise early as that input cou ld save us a l l many a headache!" What do you think will be the biggest change in the coatings or contracting industry in the next 15 years? Greenf ield continued the mater ia ls theme: "Potentia l ly the mater ia ls that w i l l be applied. Histor ica l ly, I've not been too receptive to ' brea k- through ' mater ia ls and their hy pe, but there are products evolv ing onto the market place that cou ld change the landscape." What challenges do you see facing the industry in the next 15 years, and how does this differ from the past? Having educated members of the growing industry — from the engineers and manufacturers to the workforce — seems to be a common theme. Mahaffey said, "ere is an immense amount of infrastructure requiring coating work in the next 15 years, but the next generation of qualified applicators do not seem to be growing at the same pace." Greenfield explained that he thinks, " finding qualified technicians is going to be more and more diffi- cult. T here is less desire to become a 'painter,' or any other craft for that matter. Most young folks are driven to the college path and 'white-collar' work, or the promise of it any way. I think it's going to be harder and harder to find good, qualified people that take pride in apply ing coatings and want to pursue that path." Phil Scisciani, ow ner and coating Murphy Mahaffey D. Terry Greenfield 15 Years of Industry Insight By Marc Chavez, D. Terr y Greenfield, Murphy Mahaffey, Malcolm McNeil, and Phil Scisciani Photos courtesy of the authors