CCS Tech Dinner – October 22, 2026 – Powder Coatings Evening

Tickets $55/person

Food Included & Drinks Separate

Platinum sponsorship $350

Gold Sponsorship $200

Silver Sponsorship $100

Location: Forest City Brewery

2135 Columbus Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113

Agenda:

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM: Social Hour
Networking and cocktails (cash bar)
Sponsor recognition displays

5:30 PM – 6:00 PM: Dinner Service
Attendees order from a select menu or buffet (depending on number of people who attend)

6:00 PM – 6:45 PM: Technical Talk
The primary educational session

6:45 PM – 7:30 PM: Commercial Talk
Brief presentation

Parking:
Guests can park at the Gateway Animal Clinic AFTER it closes at 5pm
Street parking on Freeman Ave & Columbus Rd
Pay lot at West Side Market (0.2 mile walk)

Technical Talk

Fundamentals Influencing Powder Coating Free-flow Behavior

Powder coatings are a paint system consisting of solid micronized particles, ranging in size on average from sub-micron to <200 µm. Typically, these coatings are applied by air-conveying the coating and applying by electrostatically charged spray onto grounded metal substrates and heat curing. To effectively transfer and spray these coatings in a consistent, reliable manner using compressed air, free-flow additives are added during manufacturing of the paint. Fumed alumina and silica are some of the commonly used additives for this purpose due to their ability to fluidize the powder and allow flow in an almost frictionless manner, while preventing clumping during storage and transport. These materials are still able to allow electrostatic charge to the particles during spray application allowing efficient deposition onto the metal substrate. These important additive effects are generally accepted but not always well understood, as they balance a variety of influencing factors including electrostatic attraction of particles, reducing the effect of moisture introduced during manufacture (in the milling and sieving stages) and the effects of compaction under pressure (by its own weight) and vibration during transport. Differences in powder coating compositions can also affect additive performance. This presentation explores these influencing factors closer and how to leverage them to provide improvements to free-flow properties, using established and newly developed analytical methods to quantify and provide insight on how these free-flow additives affect powder free-flow rheology, storage stability, transfer efficiency and the faraday cage effects while maintaining product performance and quality.

Bernhard Resch
Technical Manager Powder Coatings, Applied Research and Technology, Industrial Coatings, Coating Additives – Evonik Industries

Bernhard Resch is a Technical Manager with Evonik Corporation’s Coating Additives Business Line. He has extensive powder coatings experience having worked for over 25 years in various functions at TIGER Drylac and Akzo Nobel before joining Evonik. His experience in managing production and labs, as well as formulating powder coatings, and trouble-shooting customer problems gives him a broad understanding of powder coatings raw materials, manufacturing, and application. He has a degree in Chemical Industrial Engineering from Austria.

From Fundamentals to Digitization: Navigating the Future of Powder Coatings
Powder coatings continue to play an increasingly important role in the coatings industry due to their sustainability benefits, durability, and application efficiency. This presentation will provide a practical overview of powder coating technology, including composition, manufacturing processes, and the advantages driving its adoption, while highlighting key similarities and differences between powder and liquid coatings. The discussion will also explore how industry trends such as digitization, data utilization, process optimization, standardization, and cross-functional collaboration are shaping the future of coatings. Attendees will gain a foundational understanding of powder coatings and insight into how digital initiatives can improve efficiency, accelerate decision-making, and create value from product development through customer support.

Morgan Gooden is an experienced S&T Customer Development Chemist at PPG’s powder coatings facility in Strongsville, Ohio. In this role, Morgan works on powder projects pertaining to process efficiency including formulation, digitization, productivity, complexity reduction, and operational excellence. With a background in Chemical Engineering and prior experience in the liquid coatings industry, Morgan brings expertise in formulation science, coating evaluation, agile learning, and cross-functional and cross-regional collaboration. Morgan is passionate about solving challenges impacting customers and businesses and bringing thoughtful solutions to the table.