Having spent 11 years covering the appliance market as editor of Appliance Manufacturer (now Appliance Design), I’m familiar with the challenges posed by offshore competition, pricing pressures and environmental regulations. And I think they’re great. Why? Because without these drivers, companies wouldn’t be nearly as motivated to innovate as they are today.

Having spent 11 years covering the appliance market as editor of Appliance Manufacturer (now Appliance Design), I’m familiar with the challenges posed by offshore competition, pricing pressures and environmental regulations.

And I think they’re great.

Why? Because without these drivers, companies wouldn’t be nearly as motivated to innovate as they are today. And though I’ve been editor of Finishing Today for only a short while (10 days as of this writing), I am truly impressed by this industry’s many advancements and cutting-edge technologies, some of which are covered in this issue.

More on those in a bit.

I’m also excited to be a part of the BNP Media organization once again (as I was when I covered the appliance market). Like you and your companies, BNP and FT are driven to innovate as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.

With that in mind, and beginning next month, look for “At a Glance” feature boxes that will show the challenges, solutions and end results that are being met and achieved by new technologies and advanced processes. And, of course, since we’re driven to innovate, we will soon be announcing improvements made to our Innovation Awards program. (See the December 2007 issue or visit us online for the 2007 award winners.)

As for the issue you’re holding, here’s a sampling of what you can look forward to:

• Advanced UV technologies responsible for accelerating the development of DTM coatings is the subject of this month’s cover story, “Put the UV to the Metal,” page 24, by Kevin H. Joesel of Fusion UV Systems, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD.
• A cost-effective tumble spraying system for coating small plastic parts to help manufacturers regain their competitive edge is presented in this month’s “Innovation Spotlight,” page 20, by Ken Raby of Walther Trowal GmbH and Co., Grand Rapids, MI.
• Why EB curing is more practical than ever for such applications as coil coating, molded parts coating, UV curing, optoelectronics applications and narrow web printing is the subject of “The EB Advantage,” page 28, by Josh Epstein of Advanced Electron Beams, Wilmington, MA.
• Energy costs and environmental concerns are fueling demand for e-coat materials with lower cure temperatures, according to Grant Fry and Tab Semanision of DuPont Performance Coatings, Mount Clemens, MI. In their article, “How Low Can You Go?”, page 48, the authors discuss how new developments are meeting market demand for such e-coat materials.

We invite you to “stay tuned” to Finishing Today each month and to visit www.finishingtodaymag.com regularly for information on the latest and greatest new technologies, products and applications. And if you’d like to share your comments about something you read in FT, or on other industry matters, please e-mail me at the address below.

Cheers!