Held by the Association of Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) in Denver, Colo., in 2023, the AMPP Annual Conference + Expo includes a number of potentially significant events for contractors and other professionals throughout the coatings industry.
The association’s flagship annual conference takes place this year March 19–23, 2023, at the Colorado Convention Center. Daily highlights are listed below. Recaps of activities throughout the week will be able to be read through the conference’s Show Daily, available online at https://showdaily.ampp.org.
Sunday, March 19
To help kick off the week, Charles Brown, Chris Farschon, and Mike Baase of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI) will present the “Coatings 101 Workshop,” designed for individuals who want to get a basic understanding of a typical protective coatings project.
Other activities of interest on Sunday may include a symposium on contractor jobsite efficiency; the “Proper Use of Coatings Inspection Instruments Workshop,” presented by Bill Corbett and Lake Barrett of KTA-Tator Inc.; the Darrel D. Byerley & Phil Calvo Memorial Golf Tournament; and the opening reception.
Monday, March 20
Monday’s festivities are headlined by the keynote address, delivered by Hall of Fame football quarterback and TV personality Terry Bradshaw. Entitled “Why Not Your Best?”, his chat is one of several opportunities for attendees to focus on self-improvement and leadership.
Shortly after the keynote, the Expo Grand Opening welcomes attendees to the Exhibit Hall for the first time. The Exhibit Hall, which is also open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday and Wednesday, includes access to The Coatings Experience — an interactive area designed to introduce those interested in coatings to the ins and outs of surface preparation, coatings selection, application, and inspection plans in a fun and interactive way.
Monday also features many forums relevant to coatings professionals. These include “Coating Failure Investigations — Finding the Cause,” presented by Valerie Sherbondy and Rick Huntley of KTA-Tator, Inc.; “Why Do Coatings & Linings Systems Fail Prematurely? How to Investigate Premature Failures When They Occur,” led by Mike O’Brien of MARK 10 Resource Group, Inc.; and “How to Gain an Edge With Coatings Contractor Selection,” led by AMPP’s Kathy Cornwall and Dave Evans.
Tuesday, March 21
Tuesday’s activities are headlined by AMPP’s annual Scholarship Awards and EMERGing Leaders Bash, which celebrates the industry’s future by honoring and recognizing the 2023 class of outstanding students and scholarship recipients.
Noteworthy technical sessions for coatings professionals include the “Quality Assurance and Coating Inspections” symposium, chaired by KTA-Tator’s Barrett and vice chaired by GPI’s Brown; the “OSHA’s 1910.134 Respiratory Protection Standard” forum, presented by GPI’s Brown; and an AMPPiTheater presentation on “Robotic Solutions for Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) Inspections,” chaired by Quinn Holub of Gecko Robotics.
Wednesday, March 22
In another Exhibit Hall AMPPiTheater session, Wednesday features the official program presentation of CoatingsPro Magazine’s 2023 Contractor Awards! Watch live, or online at CoatingsPro’s social media, as Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Chizik announces the new class of winners along with the inaugural AMPP project awards.
Other activities of note include a symposium on “Coatings and Welding Inspection: Independent 3rd Party Services,” chaired by KTA-Tator’s Barrett and vice chaired by GPI’s Brown; the “College of Fire Knowledge” forum, presented by William Dempster of AkzoNobel and Cabot Wilkinson of Carboline; and the “Developing Strategies and Processes for Successful Corrosion Control of Amusement Park Assets Through Protective Coatings” forum, presented by D. Terry Greenfield and Matt Mills of CONSULEX.
Thursday, March 23
Titled “Corrosion Mitigation Techniques and Evaluations for Water Infrastructure,” the conference’s final day features this special information track. Chrissy Henderson and Bobbi Jo Merten of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are chair and vice chair, respectively.
Other relevant sessions include day two of the “Advanced Protective Coating Technology” symposium, hosted Thursday (day one is on Wednesday) and featuring PolyLab’s Benjamin Chang and industry consultant Tom Weber as chair and vice chair, respectively; the “New Organic Coating Technologies for Reduced Environmental Impact and Enhanced Protection” symposium, chaired by Sean Fowler of Q-Lab Corp. and vice chaired by Wei Wang of Arkema; and a wide range of standards committees, ISO meetings, and technical meetings.
To access the latest conference schedule, along with session times and specific locations, visit the conference website. For more information, contact: AMPP Annual Conference + Expo, https://ace.ampp.org/.
This article was originally published in the March 2023 issue of CoatingsPro. Republished with permission.