Business Takes Center Stage at PCI’s Inaugural Event
By Lori Beckman, editor of Powder Coated Tough
For business leaders in the powder coating industry striving to improve their operations and strengthen leadership skills, the Powder Coating Institute’s Business Growth Summit, held Oct. 4-6, exceeded expectations.
Unlike the association’s annual Powder Coating Week that revolves around the technical nature of powder coating, including formulations and applications, the inaugural international event in New Orleans, La., was designed to address powder coating business topics. Sessions focused on economic predictions for the industry and practical takeaways about how to manage the future business climate.
Teddy Piepkow, PCI president.
Open to all PCI members and non-members within the industry, the 60 attendees, located in not only the U.S. but Mexico, Spain and China, consisted of executive and C-suite level managers, and presidents and founders of their own companies. PCI would like to thank its sponsors that made the event possible: AkzoNobel, Gema, Keyland Polymer, Nordson, ChemQuest, Parker Ionics and The Electrocoat Association. Their continued commitment to the advancement, innovation and success of the powder coating community is clear.
“The BGS was about meeting the needs of our members who run businesses,” said Kerry Crockett, PCI executive director, MBA, CPC, CAE, CMP Fellow, DES. “PCI tapped into a segment of our audience that we haven’t necessarily focused on at our past events.”
Did attendees walk away with what they were promised? Absolutely, as evidence from several testimonies confirmed. For example, Atlanta Visker, VP marketing and human resources at Winona Powder Coating, said, “It has been worth the time and money for the four of us from our company to come here because we’ve all taken actionable items from the speakers that we can use in our work. I’ve got plans for the morning I return to the office for what to start working on from what I’ve learned here.”
Speaking of Business Growth
Economics, tips for growing a business successfully and future expectations of AI were the major themes of the presentations. Nine speakers who identify as economists, strategies, authors or business operators enlightened the audience about forces reshaping the powder coating industry in The Higgins Hotel’s Arcadia Ballroom.
Therefore, speakers who presented information on the economy like David Altig, executive vice president and chief economic advisor, Federal Reserve Board, Atlanta, were particularly well received. Jeff Jirak, global business unit director, powder coatings and president North America, AkzoNobel, focused on global market forces affecting the powder coating industry.
“The biggest takeaways were the timeliness and relevance of the Summit and the many pearls of wisdom,” Crockett said. “When you’re running a business, you want to know what things are impacting your business on a global scale. So, the economic updates were crucial.”
Eric Shultz, author of “7 Stages of Growth,” presented his predictions for problems that can arise during times of business growth and how to stop them before they impact a company.
Eric Shultz, author of “7 Stages of Growth,” presented his book’s framework that helps predict problems that often occur as companies grow and add employees. He delivered practical takeaways on how to manage certain situations before they have an impact on a company. With a complimentary copy of Shultz’s book in hand, attendees came away from the session with awareness about the stages of their business, expectations for the near future and immediate action items.
Conversations around AI were kicked off by Chris Daigle, founder and CEO of ChiefAIOfficer.com. His presentation and hands-on workshop highlighted AI adoption in manufacturing and prompted discussions on what attendees should consider regarding this technology and how it will influence business moving forward.
To close out the Summit’s sessions, a panel discussion including OEMs, custom coaters and industry suppliers covered the topic, “The Future of the Powder Coating Business.”
John Schuepbach, Jeff Jirak, Dave Altig and Eric Shultz made up a panel discussion to close out the sessions.
“I was very, very happy with the quality of the agenda as well as the quality of the presentations,” said attendee Baron Schreuder, regional commercial director – powder North America at AkzoNobel Powder Coatings. “If we can look at doing this on a broader scale with the same level of quality of presentations, it will help the industry as a whole. It’s been a very good two days.”
Another attendee, Oscar Martinez, president at Martinez Powder Systems, said about the event, “Coming to the Business Growth Summit was a great decision. I was able to network, talk to a lot of experts and learn about the economics and importance of the business. I would recommend PCI events to anyone. This one was a great experience.”
Marty Sawyer, PCI board secretary, was one of a small group of 10 or so women representing the powder coating industry at the event. Two of the women present own powder coating shops.
The Summit also held a networking reception as well as other opportunities for attendees to connect. The PCI Hall of Fame Awards Banquet, a highlight of the event, took place at the end of the first full day of sessions.
Honoring Those Who Came Before Us
Across the street from The Higgins Hotel is the World War II Museum, the venue for the PCI Hall of Fame Awards Banquet held Oct. 5, 2026. Here, “we honor those who came before us,” not only in U.S. history, but in the powder coating industry that evening.
Three new inductees were presented with this year’s award. Chuck Danick, Jeno Muthiah and Ralph Owens were all in attendance to accept their prestigious industry awards for their dedication, commitment and contributions to the powder coating industry. Inductees are nominated by the members and elected by the PCI board of directors.
Congratulations to Jeno Muthiah, Chuck Danick and Ralph Owens, who are 2026 PCI Hall of Fame inductees. They were awarded this great honor at The Word War II during the Summit.
About Chuck Danick
Chuck Danick has worked at major corporations throughout his more than 30-year career as a chemist and R&D specialist. He currently runs Danick Specialties & Support Inc., which provides consulting services, specialty additives and unique laboratory equipment.
Danick’s experience encompasses polymer formulation, polyester and polymeric blocked isocyanate development, powder coating formulation, polymer synthesis, pilot plant and production scale-up, and more.
His dedication to PCI began at the founding meeting of the association in 1980. Since then, he has spent five years as chairperson of the Health and Safety Subcommittee and is still a member of the association. Therefore, Danick is honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“It is allowing me to join all of those who have been recognized for contributing to the powder coatings industry,” he said.
Looking back, Danick said he is proud that most of the polyesters and curatives that were developed under his watch are still in production (50 years later). He is also proud of co-authoring three powder resin patents, working with PCI to develop coating test methods for ASTM, among other accomplishments.
“I am very excited to see powder today being cured with UV, the possibility of laser-IR-cured powder (we discussed this over 30 years ago) and the development of ultra-durable polyesters to fill the gap between super-durable polyesters and FEVE resins (I participated in this preliminary lab work 30 years ago),” Danick said.
About Jeno Muthiah
Jeno Muthiah earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in textile technology in his native country of India. He came to the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in polymer science at University of Southern Mississippi.
Following his studies, Muthiah worked at Morton Powder Coatings (now AkzoNobel), starting as a formulator and later becoming an R&D chemist. He invented more than 10 U.S. patents for powder coatings including commercialized powder coatings for heat-sensitive substrates. This accomplishment is one contribution to the industry that he is most proud of.
In 2000, Muthiah began his own company, Alpha Coating Technologies. He successfully ran it for 20 years, continuing low-temperature powder coatings development and manufacturing. He developed powder formulations for MDF substrates that were used for OEMs such as Herman Miller. He later sold the company to PPG to retire.
Throughout his career, Muthiah published many scientific articles in academic journals.
“I am honored and humbled to be even nominated for such a prestigious award,” Muthiah said. “Professionally, this makes me continue to be involved and contribute more to this technology in the future.”
When asked what excites him about the powder coating industry today, he responded, “The opportunities to develop new technologies and solve customer challenges.”
About Ralph Owens
Ralph Owens began his career in powder coatings in the mid‑1980s while working for Ciba‑Geigy in the U.K. Owens later joined EMS‑Chemie, and in the late 1990s, he relocated to the U.S. where he became involved with PCI. He served as chair of the Raw Materials Committee and later led the Marketing Communications Committee. He also completed two terms on the PCI board of directors.
One of the Marketing Communications Committee key initiatives was investigating why powder coatings held a smaller share of the U.S. coatings market compared to Europe. The root cause was identified as the limited penetration in the architectural sector. This insight sparked coordinated efforts to promote powder coatings within architecture. Owens said he is most proud of helping awaken the architectural sector in North America.
In 2018, Owens joined Arkema Coating Resins and recently retired from there.
Regarding his PCI Hall of Fame Award, he said, “During my career in powder coatings, I have had the opportunity to work with great people who have previously been inducted into the PCI Hall of Fame. To be recognized alongside these people is a tremendous honor and something I will never forget.”
Owens said he is excited by powder’s growth potential. “Today, powder penetrates many more sectors than previously, and powder coatings are being applied to many more substrates. Exciting work continues to take that technology even further.”
The PCI Hall of Fame Award was first presented in 2002 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to PCI and have at least 10 years of service to the powder coating industry.
Business Growth Summit 2027
With a successful inaugural Business Growth Summit now in its rearview with resounding positive feedback from attendees and presenters alike, PCI is already planning to hold the event again in 2027.
“For next year, I will ensure we stay focused on the practical takeaways that attendees can implement in their own business and start to really see change, which is going to impact their success,” Crockett said.
For more information on this event and other PCI events, workshops, educational opportunities and more, visit powdercoating.org.