NACE International Podcasts

District Council 57 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT DC 57) is an organization of more than 2,500 members in Western Pennsylvania. Formed in 1997 as a council made of several local unions, its goal is to represent tradespeople in the region while helping them achieve careers with good wages, benefits, safety, and dignity in the workplace. Andrew Croll, director of organizing at IUPAT DC 57, has found his affiliations with SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings and now AMPP quite helpful to both his career and the objectives of the union. In this podcast, Croll elaborates on the relationship and what the associations have meant to him and IUPAT over the years, and he also offers some thoughts on what the future may look like.

In the second episode of the Member Roundtable Series, Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) members Jane Brown and Stephanie Decker continue their conversation AMPP CEO Bob Chalker.  During this episode, Chalker explains the back story of AMPP’s brand, including how the name was formed, what the logo stands for, and the legal process taken to ensure AMPP's brand remains strong for decades. (Episode 1)

Davies Hood, president and owner at Induron Protective Coatings, has worked in a leading executive role for the past decade. In this exclusive interview with CoatingsPro Magazine, Hood shares some of his insight on current industry trends and keys to Induron’s success; his perspective on the merger of SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings and NACE International; and some hopes for the future with the newly merged organization known as AMPP.

With a high deficit of technological know-how in the traditional oil and gas sector, as well as related fields like corrosion mitigation, digital transformation and investment in workers is necessary to ensure the industry’s future. Travis Parigi, CEO of field management software company LiquidFrameworks, shares his insight on how training, learning management systems, and comprehensive tools and solutions can help workers grow their skills and allow the industry to evolve.

Bob Chalker, CEO of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), recently joined the special 20th anniversary podcast series at CoatingsPro Magazine. Topics include the magazine’s evolution over the years and its outlook moving forward; changes and trends in the coatings industry over his time with NACE International and AMPP; priorities for the newly merged association and where publications such as CoatingsPro and Materials Performance fit in; and much more. Tune in!

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, who represents the 7th District of Texas, joins our podcast to discuss what the corrosion industry can expect from the newly signed U.S. infrastructure package. District 7 is where the longtime NACE International headquarters and current AMPP office complex is located in West Houston. Topics include motivations for the bill and why it got to the finish line in this Congress; highlights of the deal that pertain most to corrosion engineers and contractors; how a person or company can position themselves to earn work; how industry associations like AMPP can help; and much more.

With the landmark U.S. infrastructure bill recently being signed into law, we discuss its implications for the corrosion industry with Adam L. Christopher, manager of government relations at the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), and Dan Adley, recently retired CEO of engineering consultancy KTA-Tator, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). Topics include a legislative outline of the bill and insight into some of its major topics; what the infrastructure legislation means for the corrosion industry as a whole; what AMPP members can do to prepare themselves; and where people should go to find out more information about the bill and any opportunities.

In the first episode of the Member Roundtable Series, Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) members Jane Brown and Stephanie Decker interview AMPP CEO Bob Chalker. During that conversation, Chalker shares the background story of the steps taken to merge SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings and NACE International into AMPP.

Niles Hickman, global product marketing manager at Graco, recently joined the “member profile” series from CoatingsPro Magazine to share some of his company’s keys to success. Topics include feedback from contractors on needs and challenges in the field; how new coating technologies are changing the marketplace in 2021; potential equipment solutions from Graco; and the role of industry associations such as SSPC, NACE, and AMPP in moving careers forward.

Jerry Frankel, Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Director of the Fontana Corrosion Center at The Ohio State University, joins the CORROSION journal Interview Series to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on universities, labs, and the research community. Topics discussed on this episode also include the importance of in-person meetings and the CorroZoom series that Jerry launched. 

AMPP is working on a new initiative to collect all legacy and current intellectual property content (standards, conference papers, books, etc.) while using best practices in content management and its supporting technology to make it discoverable for the audience. Learn more in this exclusive interview with Mandy May, director of content management for the association, and Bob Chalker, CEO of AMPP.

Curt Hickcox, vice president of business development at Public Utilities Maintenance, Inc. (Queens Village, New York, USA), joins our "member profile" podcast series to discuss his career in the corrosion industry. Topics include corrosion mitigation strategies of the past, present, and future for electric transmission and distribution clients; the importance of contractor certifications and a commitment to safety; and how associations like SSPC, NACE, and AMPP can play key roles in career development and company growth.

Warren Brand heads Chicago Corrosion Group, a leading vendor-neutral consultancy. In this podcast, he shares many of his personal keys to success, insights on the coatings industry, and perspective on the combination of NACE International and SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings into the newly formed Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). In a successful career spanning more than four decades, Brand has owned an industrial tank lining and coating firm and has written dozens of blogs and technical articles in a variety of publications. Brand, who is a certified NACE Level 3 and The Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) protective coating specialist (PCS), has earned an MBA, as well. He has managed thousands of coating installation projects and developed specs for thousands of paint and coating applications. For more information, contact Warren on LinkedIn or visit www.chicagocorrosiongroup.com.

Joe Walker, vice president and general manager of Elcometer Inc., joins our “member profile” series to share some of his company’s keys to success. Topics include Elcometer's journey as an equipment supplier to the coatings industry; strategies on how to train clients to best use their products; career highlights and expansion strategies; and much more. Walker, who is an immediate past chair of AMPP, also shares his thoughts on the merger of NACE International and SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings — led by what he sees as benefits and priorities for the combined association and industry moving forward.

Jim Kunkle, manager of business development at AMPP, sits down with Lou Lyras, CEO of Corcon, Inc.; Sam Scaturro, president of Alpine Painting and vice chairman of the AMPP board; and Adam Christopher, government relations manager at AMPP, to discuss the surface transportation and water infrastructure bill that is currently in the U.S. Senate. Topics include what subjects the bill is designed to address, what factors are important to AMPP members and stakeholders, and how AMPP members can help support the bill's passage.

Ingrid Milošev, Head of the Department of Physical and Organic Chemistry at Jožef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia and scientific advisor for Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital, joins this episode of the CORROSION journal Interview Series to discuss her career. She analyzes her work on copper alloys and biomedical corrosion, as well as some of the changes in the field over the past 30 years. Ingrid extends thanks to all of her coworkers throughout the years at the Department. For more information, contact: Ingrid Milošev, Ingrid.Milosev@ijs.si

This episode features our interview with Dr. Mehrooz Zamanzadeh, technical director and principal investigator at Matergenics and Nathan Pace, corrosion engineer for Matergenics. Dr. Mehrooz discusses potential causes of the Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside, Florida, and he offers safety recommendations for coastal buildings nearby and nationwide. Dr. Zamamzadeh is a Fellow of NACE international and ASM; a NACE Certified Specialist in coatings, cathodic protection, and materials selection and design; and an AMPP Instructor for condition assessment and corrosion engineering.

In the debut episode of AMPPLIFY, Jim Kunkle and Dave Evans explore the new AMPP QP Accreditation Programs, featuring QP-1, QP-2, QP-3, QP-5, QP-6, QP-8, and QS-1.

Cindy O'Malley, Chief Operations Officer and AMPP Global Center Executive Director, joins our podcast to discuss corrosion concerns in residential buildings and the possible implications of corrosion in the Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside, Florida, USA.

Oladis Troconis de Rincón, the founder and former Director of 30 years of the Centro de Estudios de Corrosion at the University of Zulia (LUZ) in Venezuela, joins the CORROSION journal Interview Series to discuss her career in corrosion. Currently an advisor at LUZ and a Research Scientist at UTSA, Oladis talks about why she switched from studying polymers to corrosion, starting the corrosion program at LUZ, and international collaborations and projects she has worked on over her 40+ year career.  For more information, contact: Oladis Troconis de Rincón at oladistdr@gmail.com or oladis.troconis@utsa.edu.