Meet The Speakers:
CURT WILD
Curt Wild brings nearly 30 years of paint and coatings experience to his current role as Research and Development Manager for W.R Meadows. In this position Curt is responsible for the direction of new product development, technology development and innovation initiatives for W.R. Meadows. Prior to joining W.R. Meadows, he has held positions as Technical Director for Hallman Lindsay, Global Product Director for Sherwin-Williams – General Industrial and Regional Technical Director for Sherwin-Williams – General Industrial. Over his career Curt has held positions in research, quality assurance, project management and technical management. Curt holds a B.S. in chemistry from Purdue University and worked for the university in the Polymer Research program during his studies. Curt is based in Madison, Wisconsin.
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ROBERT SANDOVAL
Dr. Robert Sandoval is the R&D Technical Director at EPS. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in 2005 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2010, focusing on polymer physics and engineering Dr. Sandoval spent four years at Dow Chemical before joining EPS in 2014 where he has held various technical and leadership roles. He is a named inventor on 11 granted U.S. patents
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KEITH MOODY
Keith Moody
Retired Eastman Chemical - Consultant Senior Technical Service Associate, Coatings Technical Service Lab Keith received his BS in Chemistry from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1976 and his MS in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1987. He has worked in the coatings industry since 1980. He has taught classes at the University of Louisville in Coating Science and is the author of both patents and technical articles on waterborne coatings. Prior to his current position at Eastman, Keith has worked in resin production, polymer development, and emulsion research with BASF and Celanese. At Eastman Chemical Company for almost 29 years, he has worked in technical service, research, development and sales positions. He has held leadership positions as Vice President R+D Americas for Lawter International, and R+D Technical Manager-Coatings Resins for McWhorter Technologies, when both were subsidiaries of Eastman Chemical Company. For the last several years, he has been the lead technical service representative for solvents. He has presented seminars on solvent technology to research groups at Akzo, Sherwin-Williams, BASF, PPG and many other coating manufacturers. |
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JESSICA KOVAL
Jessica earned her Bachelors of Science in Biology from North Central College. She has been a Regulatory Specialist at Rust-Oleum Corporation for the past seven years, where she has developed expertise in the US state and federal chemical regulations by overseeing product compliance from various perspectives including formula composition, registration, documentation, and labelling. She also has several years of experience working with a wide array of international regulations. During her years in the regulatory field she has enjoyed involvement with the American Coatings Association, the Household & Commercial Products Association, and many other industry groups. She currently serves as the Regulatory and Legislative Chair for the Chicago Paint and Coatings Association.
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CHRISTINE FORTENER
Christine Fortener is a Senior Technical Account Coordinator for Arkema with 27 years’ experience in the coatings industry. She started her career with UCAR Emulsion Systems specializing in latex paint chemistry. Chris spent 10 years in research and development for the Ace Paint Division. In her current role with Arkema, Chris provides technical support for solventborne acrylics, latex emulsions, water and solventborne alkyds, polyesters and additives.
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RAM LALGUDI
Ram is a subject matter expert in synthetic polymer chemistry and has demonstrated expertise in utilizing bio-sourced materials for coatings applications. He has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and more than 20 years of experience in strategic product development and commercialization. He developed novel functional materials, demonstrated their application in encapsulation & controlled release of chemical and biological actives. Successful new products developed in the last five years are smart coatings for corrosion detection and self-healing, stain repellent and antimicrobial coatings for textiles and icephobic coatings for power cables. Ram founded Aries Science & Technology and developing novel bio-based functional materials for the coatings industry. He has 29 granted US patents, 19 pending patent applications and more than 25 publications. He received four R&D 100 awards for his innovative research and successful commercialization. He was one of the editorial board members for the Journal of Macromolecular Science-Pure and Applied Chemistry (2007-2012)
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MIKE IDACAVAGE
Dr. Mike J. Idacavage received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1979. Mike’s work in energy curing started at Eastman Chemicals with the establishment of a photopolymer lab in 1985. In 2003, Mike received the President’s Award for Outstanding Achievements to the Radiation Curing Industry from RadTech North America. He was also the President of RadTech North America for the 2009 to 2010 term. Mike is the Founder of Radical Curing LLC, a consulting company focused on industrial applications for UV and EB curing and serves as an advisor to RadTech and several companies. In addition, Mike was an Adjunct Associate Professor at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, NY teaching courses in UV and EB curing technology from 2014 to 2019.
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JOHN FLORIO
John Florio is the Technical Service & Development Manager for King Industries’ Coatings Division in Norwalk, Connecticut. Since joining the company in 1981, John has made significant contributions to the development of their catalyst and polyol programs. John received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. He has authored and co-authored articles and book chapters related to urethane and aminoplast coating and elastomer chemistries. He is co-editor of the book, “Handbook of Coatings Additives, Second Edition” (Dekker/CRC Press). John holds patents in the area of catalysis for various coating and elastomer systems. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and is a recipient of the “Paint Pioneer Award” from the Metropolitan New York Coatings Association.
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STEVE HALLBERG
Steve Hallberg has been an active paint formulations chemist for 38 years. His background includes alkyd/solvent borne as well as waterborne chemistries. Steve began his coatings career at ACE Hardware’s Paint Division in Matteson, IL. While working at ACE, he earned his BS in Chemistry from Governors State University in 1999. In 2000 he joined McWhorter Technologies / Eastman Chemical as a Technical Service Rep. This role focused on customer focused formulation solutions as well as sales and R&D responsibilities. In 2003 he joined The Valspar Corp. as a Group Leader/Scientist working in the Consumer Division then moved into the polymer division, Engineered Polymer Solutions (EPS). After 17 years with Valspar / Sherwin Williams, Steve Joined the Rustoleum team in Pleasant Prairie WI as Principal Scientist for their waterborne primer and wall paint segment. He is co-inventor on a patent for a High Block, Tack and Scrub Resistant Coating Composition.
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ANTHONY ARRIVO
Anthony J. Arrivo has spent more than twenty years in the business of chemicals. While his advanced degrees in chemistry and marketing provided a strong foundation for his success, the true catalyst for his career growth has been his passion for innovative and creative solutions that address specific customer problems and opportunities. In the ten years he has been with Brenntag, he has held various positions throughout the company from sales to corporate accounts, honing his skills in each area and mastering each with the proficiency to quickly climb through the ranks. As the Focus Industry Manager for the ACES (adhesives, coatings, elastomers, and sealants) market, his wealth of knowledge in the industry coupled with multiple certifications has helped his teams to create effective solutions that ultimately result in increased profitability for Brenntag’s customers.
While Anthony gravitated to the chemical industry, it was his family’s history in the paint and coatings business that ultimately made ACES an easy choice. Customers have benefited substantially from his experience and solutions-driven approach. In addition to expertise in strategy, Arrivo’s experience also extends to formulations and blends. He has been personally involved in the development of the first integral grout treatment to market, the first antiviral coating product lines to market, and unique blending processes that serve the UV ink market. His passion for creating customized, profitable solutions is only outweighed by his desire to share his knowledge and expertise with the world – from participating in professional associations to teaching customers about optimal plant operations. As an active member of multiple boards and associations including CPCA, Nifty Niblick, KCPCS, CSCT, CDCA, CFA, ACA, and CICI; he is consistently focusing his additional time and energy on either honing his expertise on the newest technologies in the industry or teaching others based on his unique industry experiences. As a member of the Brenntag University team, his passion for teaching is utilized in training new Brenntag team members on the technologies and market trends in the ACES industry. |
MARK VINCENT
Dr. Vincent is the CEO of Chroma Specialty Chemicals, a global supplier of pigments and dyes to the inks, coatings and plastics markets. Dr. Vincent holds a BSc and PhD in Organic Colour Chemistry from the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK. He has been in the pigment industry for almost 25 years, holding various positions in R&D, Regulatory, Sales, Division Management and more recently as CEO of Dominion Colour Corporation in Canada, prior to creating Chroma Specialty Chemicals.
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