Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/954267
huge pieces of steel. Then the piece had to be powder coated before it was fin- ished. Rockow incorporated a fenced area around the sculpture where he says people can place locks in remembrance and leave a piece of themselves behind. He donated his welding skills, the laser cutting was donated by Ramsey and Son, and the powder coating was do- nated by Rand Proline. Auburn Systems, FilterSense merge BEVERLY, Mass.—Auburn Systems and FilterSense have merged to create the world's leading provider of particu- late monitors and intelligent controls for filtration systems and related mater- ial flow processes. Auburn Systems invented triboelectric particulate flow monitoring, and Fil- terSense has been a pioneer in advanc- ing particulate monitoring and intelli- gent filtration control. The new com- pany, Auburn FilterSense LLC, will apply over 60 years of combined expe- rience and application knowledge from over 75,000 installations to bring un- matched technology and support to help customers worldwide prevent emissions and improve operations. The merger is growth orientated with all employees, product brands, and sales channels remaining. Mitchell Metal Products honored with reshoring award CHICAGO, Ill.—Mitchell Metal Products, Merrill, Wis., received the first National Reshoring Award in recognition of its efforts to bring manu- facturing back home to the US from overseas. The award, given by The Reshoring Initiative and PMA, honors a c o m p a n y t h a t h a s s u c c e s s f u l l y reshored products, parts, or tooling made primarily by metalforming, fabri- cating, or machining. Mitchell Metal Products was selected after using reshoring to produce more end prod- ucts with less lead time. In 2016, the company manufactured a cultivator handle subassembly product, increasing production volume from 4,500 made overseas to 30,000 made in Wisconsin. TCI opens new product development lab AMERICUS, Ga.—TCI Powder Coatings, a subsidiary of RPM Interna- tional Inc., opened its new Product De- velopment Laboratory in Americus, Ga., last year. The lab's primary func- tions include developing innovative products, improving current technolo- g i e s , a n d p r o d u c i n g r a p i d c o l o r matches. Other lab features include an- alytical work, corrosion testing, envi- ronmental research and testing, manu- facturing, and customer support. State-of-the-art color matching equip- ment and software combined with an upgraded database of improved pig- ments provide for unparalleled color matching capabilities and quick turn- around times. A styling room is avail- able for critical color matching/styling work and spaces designed for customer collaboration and employee training were included in the design. The lab also has FTIR and DSC capabilities. TCI manufactures and develops ther- moset powder coatings. Winter Olympic athletes will sport Axalta PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Axalta Coat- ing Systems has worked diligently be- hind the scenes to provide coatings that are designed to protect and beautify ski e q u i p m e n t a t t h e 2 0 1 8 W i n t e r Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. Axalta is a global leader in the coatings industry, providing cus- tomers with innovative, colorful, and sustainable coatings solutions. This is not the first time Axalta's coat- ings have proved themselves at a global sporting event. Many of the skiers at the "Alpine World Ski Championship 2017" in Sankt Moritz, Switzerland, raced on skis coated with Axalta's high performing coating materials. In fact, eight of the ten gold medal recipients won wearing skis coated by Axalta. Ax- alta's Stollpox, Aquapox, Cellonit, and Aquacryl Special Primer, Printing Paint, and Clearcoats in solventborne and waterborne formulations have con- tinued to make a name for themselves in the sporting goods market with major ski manufacturers. Trade shows honor top presenters FORT MILL, S.C.—Despite a last- minute change of venue due to damage wrought by Hurricane Irma, the AIM- CAL R2R (roll-to-roll) Conference/SPE FlexPackCon concluded on a high note with recognition of six outstanding speakers. The event, which took place last October, drew several hundred attendees and 80 exhibitors and featured nearly 100 sessions about web coating, market trends, material advances, measurement technology, flexible packaging, printed electronics, and other converting topics. Six presentations were recognized by the Association of International Metal- lizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIM- CAL) and the Society of Plastics Engi- neers (SPE). Two honorees received a 2017 SPE FlexPackCon Best Paper Award: Matt Dingee of OnPoint2020, Lansing, Mich., for "Unleash E-Com- merce with Packaging that Clicks" and Jesper Van Berkel of Synvina, Amster- dam, The Netherlands, for "BOPEF — A New Bio-Based High-Barrier Sub- strate Film for the Packaging Industry." AIMCAL presented two 2017 John Matteucci Awards for Technical Excel- lence and two Honorable Mentions. Aravind Seshadri of Roll-2-Roll Tech- nologies LLC, Stillwater, Okla., won the 2017 AIMCAL John Matteucci Award for Technical Excellence in Web Coating with his paper, "Predicting and Preventing Issues in R2R Manufactur- ing Using Data Analysis Techniques." Dr. Sang-Jin Lee of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Daejeon, South Korea, took home the 2017 AIMCAL John Matteucci Award for Technical Excellence in Vacuum Web Coating for "New Results about Multi-Functional Plasma Polymer Thin Films Fabricated by Large Area R2R Sputtering Process." The 2017 John Matteucci Technical Excellence Honorable Mention in Web Coating recognized "Photonic Curing for Printed Electronics" by Dr. Aoife Celoria of NovaCentrix, Austin, Tex. The Honorable Mention in Vacuum Web Coating honored "In-Vacuum Flexo Topcoating on Metallized Film: Commercial" by Ameer Hamza of 4 POWDER COATING, March 2018