One of the larger headlines of the past week was the renewed strength of the euro, which closed at $1.1449 on Friday. To put that exchange rate in perspective, the euro traded for $1.0582 on April 13, and Friday’s close was the highest level for the euro since February 2. To be fair, the U.S. dollar remains strong against the euro, up 17.8 percent since May 6, 2014. Yet, the recent weakness in the dollar (and strength in the euro) has been the result of weaker-than-expected economic data in the United States and better-than-anticipated numbers coming out of Europe. Many of the underlying long-term fundamentals in these two regions remain the same, but those manufacturers worried about the negative impact of a soaring dollar got some welcome relief last week in the recent easing of the greenback.

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Once again, there was evidence last week that significant headwinds have dampened activity in the manufacturing sector. The sector added just 1,000 net new workers in April, marking the third consecutive month with soft hiring. The data suggest that challenges from a strong dollar, slowing growth abroad, lower crude oil prices, residual effects from the West Coast ports slowdown, a cautious consumer and weather have combined to take their toll on the economy, at least for the time being.

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Onsite registration for the 2015 Powder Coating Show in Louisville remains open! Exhibitors have set up for the big show and are ready to show you the...

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Last fall, the Powder Coating Institute (PCI®) announced its plans to move its annual Powder Coating Show from the fall to the spring. Most of the country endured a long, cold winter followed by a most-welcome spring. It seems impossible to have come so quickly, but spring has sprung, and we are off to the races!

This year’s show theme, Powder: The Winning Finish, is being held this week in Louisville, Ky., home of the Churchill Downs racetrack. Scheduled for May 6-7, this niche market conference and trade-show is proudly recognized as the premiere event for technical and applied technology forums as well as new product innovations and developments in the powder coating industry. This is your single best opportunity to meet and interact with the leading industry professionals. This show will provide you the insights you need to optimize your current processes or convince you that powder coating is “The Winning Finish” for your products and/or parts.

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Registration for the 2015 Powder Coating Show will close on Thursday, April 30th at 12:00 pm. If registering after that date, you will need to download a registration form and bring it with you to the show. On-site registration is Tuesday, May 5th between 1pm and 5pm or Wednesday, May 6th between 7:30am and 4:30pm. Please Do NOT FAX or email the registration form between the dates of April 30th and May 7th.

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Durable goods orders jumped 4.0 percent in March, which should be a sign that the sector was growing strongly and rebounding from recent softness. Instead, strong aircraft and motor vehicle sales in the month masked broader weaknesses behind the surface. Excluding transportation equipment orders, durable goods sales dropped 0.2 percent for the month and have edged lower across the past six months. Durable goods shipments were somewhat more encouraging on a year-over-year basis, up 3.7 percent, but they have been essentially flat since September.

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When you want to maximize your use of shop space and still accommodate a variety of production runs, batch ovens will provide the best solution. Designed for versatility and variability, batch ovens are well suited for production applications that vary in shape, size and volume. 

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Advantages of powder coating include thicker coatings without running or sagging, faster production cycles, and much lower emissions of volatile organic compounds. In most cases, key elements of powder paint systems are natural gas-fired convection ovens, or gas-fired catalytic infrared systems. The use of powder coatings for product finishing is expanding into new markets. These finishes are expanding from metallic products only to other surfaces, notably medium-density fiberboard (MDF). 

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Happy Earth Day! In addition to being the more durable and attractive choice, powder coating is also highly protective of our environment.

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Does PCI's Online Registration System Look Different?
Well, it should! The association is migrating all online registrations into its new Content Management System in order to keep all contact information in one place. The new system will clean up redundancies and ensure a more efficient process.

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