AMPP Conference Closes in Colorado
On Thursday (March 23), the Association for Materials Protection and Performance’s (AMPP’s) 2023 Annual Conference + Expo in Denver came to a close, after a week packed with technical presentations, committee meetings, networking opportunities, exhibits and more.
According to AMPP, more than 5,700 individuals registered to attend the conference during the course of the week. There were also 381 exhibitors and over 50 technical symposia sessions during the conference—the second annual event since the merger of SSPC and NACE to form AMPP in 2021.
Technical Program
After kicking off on Monday, the technical agenda continued into Tuesday morning with more symposia related to coatings and corrosion.
Tuesday’s slate of presentations included the “Marine Coatings and Corrosion” session, which featured presentations covering inspection of coated piles at a marine terminal, predicting coating deterioration in marine environments, autonomous cleaning, maintenance and inspection options and more.
In addition, in their presentation, “Major Refurbishment of a Century-Old Miter Gate: Opening the Path to the Regional Ship-Repair Industry Awakening,” Juan Caballero and Jeimy Bernal of Naval Industrial Solutions presented a case history on a ship blasting and coating project, and how the lessons learned on that job can impact the ship repair industry.
Lastly, on Tuesday, Charles Brown of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., hosted a workshop on OSHA’s respiratory protection standard, outlining its requirements and stipulations so that companies can build an effective respiratory protection program.
In addition to the coatings and corrosion sessions, Wednesday morning opened with a session focused on building leadership skills. “Beyond the Standard: Leadership Behaviors that Drive Results” included a presentation from retiring AMPP CEO, Bob Chalker, who spoke about the recent challenges involved with merging two organizations in the midst of a global pandemic, and how mutual listening and showing of respect helped him guide the Association through such challenges.
Other Wednesday and Thursday sessions of note included:
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In addition to the scheduled symposia taking place in meeting rooms throughout the Colorado Convention Center, AMPP dedicated two separate “AMPPitheater” spaces on the exhibit hall floor, where attendees perusing the hall could stop in for some informational sessions. |
AMPPitheater Presentations
In addition to the scheduled symposia taking place in meeting rooms throughout the Colorado Convention Center, AMPP dedicated two separate “AMPPitheater” spaces on the exhibit hall floor, where attendees perusing the hall could stop in for some informational sessions.
Tuesday’s first AMPPitheater presentation was a look at how different types of coating inspectors can lead to different results on projects. In “Coating Inspectors: Easy Eddie, Tough Tony and Wise Wally,” presented Michael Harkin of FeO, Inc., discussed the strengths and weaknesses of three different types of coating inspectors, and how to deal with each in a productive manner to achieve optimal project results.
Other AMPPitheater sessions related to coatings from Tuesday and Wednesday included:
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On Tuesday night, AMPP shuttled ticketed attendees to the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood for its annual Scholarship Awards and EMERGing Leaders Bash. |
Awards, Other Events
Throughout the week, AMPP and its partners presented a variety of awards honoring young professionals, lifetime achievement, women in coatings, outstanding publications and other milestones.
On Tuesday night, AMPP shuttled ticketed attendees to the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood for its annual Scholarship Awards and EMERGing Leaders Bash. The event opened with the awarding of scholarships to students studying in materials protection fields, followed by a night of hors d’oeuvres, drinks and dancing to the Groove Merchants band. The event was part of AMPP’s ongoing EMERG campaign to bring young people into the materials protection industry.
The AMPP Project of the Year Awards were presented Wednesday afternoon on the exhibit hall floor. Projects were recognized for their service to the community, excellent craftsmanship, management of a complex project, technical support, shop coatings work, engineering excellence and aesthetic merit.
Winning projects included two separate U.S. military ship painting jobs, a new bridge construction project, the robotic surface preparation of a storage tank, a large mural painted at a former grain silo site and other noteworthy work.
Also on Wednesday, in the exhibit hall, awards were presented to students for their research as part of the annual Student Poster Session. More than 80 total posters were on display throughout the week, and AMPP’s panel of expert judges chose the top three posters in three different topic-based categories:
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Also on Wednesday, in the exhibit hall, awards were presented to students for their research as part of the annual Student Poster Session. |
On Wednesday evening, in the Capitol Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency conference headquarters hotel, AMPP presented a slew of awards at its annual Honoree Night reception. Some of the awards presented at Honoree Night included:
A full list of the awards presented during the conference can be found here.
AMPP 2024 Conference
The 2024 AMPP Conference + Expo will return to the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from March 3–7, 2024.
Topic requests for the 2024 technical program are currently being solicited. According to AMPP, the Conference & Events Program Committee (CEPC) will review requests and determine the topics to be scheduled for the 2024 technical program. A call for abstracts for peer-reviewed topics will open in April, and presenters will be notified on acceptance in July.
Email papers@ampp.org with questions about the submission process.
