As we are wrapping up this issue, the Coatings World staff is also busy gearing up for the upcoming conference season. Our calendars have quickly filled with exciting coatings events.
First up we are headed to the Big Easy February 4-8 for the Waterborne Symposium. This annual New Orleans event is held by the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials at The University of Southern Mississippi, and features the latest innovations in waterborne, high-solids and powder coatings technologies. This year’s event should be extra special since it marks the Symposium’s 40th anniversary.

Next we will be heading to Rosemont, Illinois for the American Coatings Associations’ (ACA) 2013 CoatingsTech Conference. This biennial event will take place March 11-13  and will feature a multi-track platform, industry awards, presentations by industry experts and a forum for sharing new research.

Starting on page 34 we have an exclusive interview with NACE’s executive director, Bob Chalker. He was kind enough to discuss the organization’s upcoming CORROSION 2013 Conference, which will be held March 17-21 in Orlando, Florida. The exhibition is the largest of its kind and will feature approximately 375 companies displaying the latest in corrosion control products and services.
Be sure to also check out our European Coatings Show (ECS) Preview beginning on page 36.  This biennial event will take place March 17-19 in Nürnberg, Germany. The ECS is the leading international paint and coatings industry event and the show organizers report that this year’s event will be “exceeding all expectations.”

If you plan on attending the ECS be sure to stop by the Coatings World booth. We will have a full staff on site reporting live from the show floor. If you are not able to attend this key event, be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter at nitesh_cw.rodpub.com. We will be sending out daily e-mails to bring the latest European Coatings Show news right to your computer.