NACE International Podcasts

In the first week of February 2026, AMPP is hosting its inaugural Maritime Coatings Contractor Forum in Virginia Beach, Virginia. To preview the event and share insights into industry trends, AMPP is catching up with key sponsors and industry leaders. In the aftermath of last week’s five-person panel, this week’s edition features Matt Dowden of Av-DEC, Courtney Culpepper of Courtney Culpepper Consulting; and AMPP’s Jennifer Merck.

The Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) is now five years old! To celebrate and reflect on that journey, D. Terry Greenfield — principal consultant at CONSULEX and previously an AMPP chairman and NACE International president — kicks off our “Then and Now” anniversary series. Discussion topics include AMPP’s origins as a combination of its legacy organizations (NACE and SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings); highlights from the first five years; and opportunities for further growth and expansion in the months and years ahead.

On February 3-4, 2026, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, AMPP is hosting its inaugural Maritime Coatings Contractor Forum. To reflect and share insight on the latest industry trends, this panel discussion features AMPP’s Jennifer Merck and Ben DuBose alongside several prominent event sponsors. Speakers include Jim Hartley of PPG; Robert Dahlstrom of Apellix; Joe McGreal of Ervin Industries; and Russell Roden of Atlantic Design Inc. (ADI). In a roundtable format, this episode also previews the event while showcasing its potential benefits for members and key stakeholders throughout the maritime coatings industry.

This December 2025 roundtable conversation with leaders from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) explores the vital role of certifications in industrial painting, as well as areas in which a trained and certified workforce can boost the coatings industry. Topics on this sponsored episode include modern project requirements, certifications, and the industry’s future; QP contractor requirements; how contractor accreditation can help ensure quality and protect investments; and the IUPAT’s important role in raising the bar for industry standards.

With an innovation known as “Heat-Flex CUI mitigation coatings,” Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine earned industry recognition as a winner in the 2025 Materials Performance (MP) Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards program. MP is a member magazine of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). Neil Wilds, global product director for corrosion under insulation (CUI) and testing at Sherwin-Williams, joins this episode alongside Kristin Leonard, energy marketing director for North America. In a conversation with AMPP Media’s Ben DuBose, Wilds and Leonard explain how the Heat-Flex CUI line came to be; marketplace trends and feedback from the field; and what the future could hold in 2026 and beyond.

On February 3-4, 2026, in Virginia Beach, Va., the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) will host its inaugural Maritime Coatings Contractor Forum. To share event plans along with insight on industry trends, this roundtable podcast features Jennifer Merck of AMPP; Anthony Manglona of Precise Systems; and Cassandra Frisby of Newport News Shipbuilding.  

Gregory Muha, Director of Conferences, Exhibits, and Sponsorships, joins our podcast with answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the 2026 AMPP Annual Conference + Expo.  Held from March 15-19 in Houston, discussion topics include what members can expect at the show; highlights of the 2026 schedule; feedback-based changes from previous years; and how the latest version of the conference is being designed to meet the needs of AMPP members and the broader industry.

Malcolm McNeil, owner and president of McNeil Coatings Consultants, Inc., passed away on August 31, 2025. He was 92 years old. In addition to his numerous jobs and roles over six-plus decades in the industry, McNeil spent many years as a lead instructor of NACE International’s flagship Coating Inspector Program (CIP) and as Technical Editor for CoatingsPro Magazine. In this episode, longtime CIP Instructor Phil Fouche (who delivered McNeil’s eulogy this fall) joins AMPP staffers Ben DuBose and Stephanie Chizik to reflect on McNeil’s memorable life, including decades of distinguished service to both the association and the industry.

Dennis Karnstein and Brian Carson are top executives at Pittsburgh Paints Co., a leading North American producer of interior and exterior paints, stains, caulks, repair products, adhesives, and sealants. In this conversation with CoatingsPro Magazine, a member magazine of AMPP, Karnstein and Carson address several marketplace trends as 2025 draws to a close. Other discussion topics include strategies to make coatings more user-friendly for applicators; benefits of the group’s unique service model; new opportunities as a privately owned company; and more.

As part of exclusive “Exhibitor Spotlight” interviews from our flagship AMPP 2025 conference in Nashville, we spoke with leading industry experts regarding new products and services to address today’s challenges. With emphasis on our Materials Performance (MP) audience, this mini-episode features insights from leaders at TESI Group, Lindsay Corp., and Automa.

As part of this sponsored episode, experts from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) explore how new and emerging technologies are transforming the industrial coating marketplace. Featuring insights from Don McClain, Andrew Croll, and Ken Seal, topics include the impact of new technologies and tools; optimal strategies for training, workforce development, and quality control; future trends to watch for; and the role of organizations such as IUPAT and AMPP in supporting the industry and advocating for its workforce.

In exclusive “Exhibitor Spotlight” interviews from our flagship AMPP 2025 conference in Nashville, we spoke with several industry experts regarding new products and services to address modern needs and challenges. With emphasis on our Materials Performance (MP) audience, this mini-episode features insights from leaders at MOBILTEX and ROCKWOOL.

Ray Fremont Jr., president of General Air Products, joins our ongoing series profiling winners of the 2025 Materials Performance (MP) Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards. General Air’s winning innovation, Vapor Pipe Shield, is a patented and UL-listed solution for the prevention of corrosion in dry pipe and pre-action fire sprinkler systems. The technology features a delivery system utilizing a vapor-phase corrosion inhibitor, and Fremont explains how it is already making a difference out in the field.

Developed by Integrity Products & Supplies Inc., the PTFE Spacer Wrap offers an impermeable and stand-off barrier between thermal insulation and piping to simultaneously protect against corrosion under insulation, insulation-driven stress cracking, and thermal losses. Backed by peer-reviewed scientific research, this winning innovation (materials design category) from the 2025 MP Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards is helping resolve previously unaddressed protection and performance issues faced by thermally insulated assets. In this interview episode, Technical Director Ahmad RK Rana and CEO Graham Brigham explain how the system works and its unique value proposition to the industry.

Mike Yongjun Tan, professor of applied electrochemistry and corrosion technologies at Australia’s Deakin University, shares insights pertaining to his group’s award-winning technology. As a patent-pending, closed-loop smart cathodic protection (CP) technology, the system employs a localized corrosion probe to perform in-situ monitoring of localized corrosion. It then uses corrosion monitoring data to smartly adjust and closed-loop control the CP potential/current.

Davies Hood, President and Owner of Induron Protective Coatings, shares his insight on marketplace trends; innovations within the industry; and feedback from clients and end users. Those innovations include Induron’s new Perma-Clean 100 SL, which was designed to offer the benefits of thick-film barrier protection without requiring complex plural-component spray equipment.

In an ongoing series profiling MP’s 2025 Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards winners, Tony da Costa of MOBILTEX (Vice President of Engineering) shares insight on his group’s winning innovation, the CorTalk RDL1 Remote Datalogger. Topics include traditional challenges with cathodic protection (CP) remote monitoring and how this technology aims to overcome those; feedback from users in the field; and expectations for the future.

In a new series spotlighting the winners of MP’s 2025 Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards, ROCKWOOL’s Osama Hamza (Innovation Director) joins the show to discuss his group’s winning technology, CR-Tech. Topics include the science behind CR-Tech; what this award means for ROCKWOOL; and how the technology is already making a difference in the field.

Automa is an Italian company that designs, engineers, and manufactures remote monitoring technologies for the oil, gas, and water sectors, and for building automation in the civil sector. These technologies are playing a key role in the digital transformation of networks across the globe. Barbara Diaz, marketing manager, shares Automa’s perspective on the critical role of remote monitoring for cathodic protection, as well as insights on the group’s integrated hardware/software approach and how the company incorporates feedback from customers in the development of these technologies.

As part of exclusive interviews from our flagship AMPP 2025 conference in Nashville, we spoke with a wide range of industry experts regarding new products and services that can help address modern needs and challenges. With emphasis on our Materials Performance audience, this mini-episode features experts from GC Laser Systems and InduMar, which specializes in composite pipe repair.