Membership Memo—Full Circle

In January 2025, I became the business manager for the Lumiflon^® portfolio at AGC Chemicals, having started as a sales manager in late summer 2024. Lumiflon^® is a fluoroethylene vinyl ether fluoropolymer resin (FEVE) that can be used in powder, solvent-based, and water-emulsion coatings.

My career journey started within the powder coatings industry. I originally joined the laboratory at Ciba, working as a QC and R&D technician, and now I am coming back full circle into the industry.

Having worked for a few years in powder coatings, I wanted to further develop myself and my skillset, so I enrolled in the Polymer Science program at the University of Southern Mississippi. What is remarkable is that although I initially went to graduate school to further my powder and coatings background, I found interest in the broader polymers industry. Hence, after earning a Ph.D., I found positions as researcher, scientist, product manager, business development manager, sustainability champion, sales manager, and now business manager at institutions including the Naval Laboratory, Honeywell, Ticona, BASF, and AGC. In hindsight, this journey was a fortuitous one, imparting a broad and deep background in the chemicals, polymers, coatings, and composites industry, amongst other areas. I feel fortunate and blessed to have these opportunities.

I recently attended Powder Coating Week in Orlando, FL, and found this to be such a rewarding and fulfilling experience. It was very valuable as a refresher to the powder coatings industry and served as a crash course on various related technologies. I was also able to come into contact with current PCI members who are suppliers of raw materials and equipment, as well as end users of powder coatings.

This was a great experience for me and enabled me to very quickly get up to speed on relevant parts of the industry. I found PCI as a valuable conduit to current information, a touch point for future resources, and a venue to meet other participants in the industry. These resources will help me be so much more efficient and effective in my position by helping me stay current with tangible topics of importance such as trends, regulations, and new technologies.

Just as I received a huge boost to jumpstart my ‘refresher’ to powder coatings, I think that newcomers to the industry will equally benefit from the association. I’m looking forward to connecting more with fellow PCI colleagues, and I hope I can become a resource for others as well.

Raj Sundar is business manager Lumiflon® for AGC Chemicals.