Powder Coating Q&A: Powder Coating Expert

Q. We lost two internal powder coating experts and need to recruit a competent expert to come in and manage our two powder coating lines. We have been looking through regular recruiters, but to no avail. Do you have any recommendations on recruiting? Also, we have been experiencing a number of problems with our systems lately, which I attribute to our loss of expertise, and not following procedures. I am concerned enough that I feel the need to have an expert audit our systems from top to bottom and provide us with recommendations to get us back to consistent performance. Can you recommend someone or an organization? Our two lines run 16 hours per day, powder coating primarily aluminum parts.

A. Experienced powder coating supervision can be hard to find. I would consider classified ads in Products Finishing. You could also contact the Powder Coating Institute (PCI) and see if they can help. Also, talk to your powder supplier. They may be able to help with your need for an experienced coater, and they also should be competent enough to do a very thorough audit of your systems as well.

If your powder vendor cannot help you with an audit you can look for a consultant. PCI does have a list of consultants in its membership list. You may want to look for another powder vendor, too.

Originally published in the October 2015 issue.