Axalta Coating Systems took on a major role May 5 in The Detroit Society for Coatings Technology’s 41st annual Future of Coatings Under Study (FOCUS) conference. More than 200 participants from the coatings industry and area universities attended the day-long event in Troy, Michigan.

Senior members of Axalta’s global transportation coatings management group participated in a number of the FOCUS conference sessions and panels. Matt Boland, Axalta Product Director, Light Vehicle North America, served as the event’s 2016 Co-Chair. He also will chair the 2017 FOCUS conference. Axalta Vice President for Global Product Management, Eric Degenfelder, participated in the Technology in Motion, Paint it Forward panel which examined current trends and future opportunities in the coatings industry. Other panelists included representatives from coatings suppliers and auto manufacturers.

“In the coatings industry, we are encountering new challenges and opportunities almost every day,” said Boland. “From an automotive perspective, advances in component design, vehicle processing, coating chemistry, and legal requirements led us to where we are today and are pushing us into the future. The FOCUS conference is the premier North American coatings gathering, and one we, at Axalta, are proud to support.”

Michelle Dyke, Axalta Chemist at the company’s technology center for the Americas in Mount Clemens, Michigan, led a discussion on methods for real-time coating defect detection and analysis during coating applications. The methods discussed the latest technologies including the use of smart phones with mountable microscopes. Axalta Senior Product Specialist, Joseph Subda, delivered a presentation focusing on a step-by-step comprehensive dirt control program. He provided guidelines for determining types, sources and the impact of dirt and methods for elimination in the application of coatings. “Dirt … everybody has it, nobody wants it,” said Subda during the conference. “Whether you are in a small shop with two people or in a large facility with 100 people, dirt is a threat to coatings.”