HOUSTON - AkzoNobel Protective Coatings North America announced the passing of long-time employee and coatings industry veteran of 54 years, David P. Brysacz, who passed away on May 4, 2017, at age 77.

Born in Cleveland and a resident of Stow, Ohio, for the past 25 years, Brysacz earned his Bachelor's degree in Polymer Sciences from Kent State University. In 1962 he began his career at Ceilcote USA Inc., a company known for its advanced polymer-based coatings and linings used in severe service environments. He held a number of sales, management and construction superintendent positions. Between 1981 and 1999, Brysacz served in various supervisory positions at both Dudick Inc. and Ceilcote, until making Ceilcote his final home in 1999.

In 2007, Ceilcote was acquired by AkzoNobel in order to expand its portfolio of high-performance protective coatings, linings and fire-protection products, which include the International^®, Devoe^®, Enviroline^®, Polibrid^® and Chartek^® brands. During his tenure at AkzoNobel, Brysacz served as Central and West Coast Regional Sales Manager and later as a Technical Support Representative until his retirement in late 2016.

AkzoNobel’s Coatings and Engineering Services Manager, Darryl Corbin, said, “Dave’s incredible depth of knowledge in chemical-resistant linings technology cannot be surpassed. Customers across the U.S., and even globally, repeatedly sought his expertise for both the coatings selection and application phases of their projects. He was greatly admired and will be sorely missed by hundreds of colleagues and customers alike.”

Brysacz was instrumental in bringing advanced polymer coatings technology to the chemical processing and power industries during the 1970s. Long-time associate and independent business owner, John Kenna of Kenna Power Sales Inc. in Denver, Colorado, remembers, “Dave would go out of his way to spend days on the road with me to call on power plant customers throughout the Rocky Mountain region. He always treated their projects as if they were his own; and in his signature honesty would always say to them, ‘I can’t tell you what to do, but I can sure tell you what not to do.’ They always took his advice.”

AkzoNobel colleagues, William Slama and Les Prysock, added, “There’s not a customer or colleague who won’t remember Dave’s legendary phrase, ‘Go get ‘em, tiger.’ He was a real hero of the protective coatings industry.”

A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Brysacz is survived by his wife, Suzan, of 20 years, five adult children and nine grandchildren.