AMPP Interview Series

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) a...

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 conf...

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...

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 strat...

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 con...

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 utilizin...

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 In...

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 da...

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 fiel...

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 ca...

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.

Brian Carson, CEO of  Pittsburgh Paints Co.  since February 2025, shares insights regarding his new role and the future of the industry. Topics include opportunities for the company under private ownership; how Carson’s flooring experience helps him understand the paints and coatings market; common challenges and pain points for contractor customers; and more.

AMPP Advocacy Day 2025 is on the horizon, and this year’s event is focused on protecting America’s maritime future through corrosion mitigation and coatings solutions. As the United States modernizes its maritime industrial base and expands naval and commercial shipbuilding capacity, AMPP is leading conversations with policymakers to ensure materials protection remains a national priority. In this...

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades ( IUPAT ) represents 140,000 workers across the United States and Canada. In this summer 2025 interview with CoatingsPro Magazine, IUPAT’s Andrew Croll and Ken Seal share insights and the latest trends pertaining to safety, training, workforce development, industry influence and advocacy, and more.

Held in Panama City, Panama, this July, this groundbreaking event unites two premier corrosion conferences under one roof. With technical, strategic, and community perspectives, Juan Caballero, Chair of the AMPP Board of Directors, and Greg Muha, Director of Conferences, Exhibits, and Sponsorships, explore what the program will bring to members and industry attendees.

Kirk Lipes, Global Transportation Segment Director at paints and coatings manufacturer Sherwin-Williams , shares his insight on unique needs and opportunities within the market. Topics include challenges and historical limitations; newer technologies and processes to improve performance; feedback from customers and applicators; collaboration opportunities; and more.

Terry Greenfield, principal consultant at CONSULEX and a past AMPP chairman and past NACE International president, shares insight on AMPP’s growing and renewed emphasis on the maritime industry and the critical role of materials protection, particularly in relation to the White House’s new shipbuilding initiative. As AMPP’s accredited representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)...

Dr. Narasi Sridhar, CEO of MC Consult LLC, is the 2025 recipient of AMPP’s prestigious Willis Whitney Technical Achievement Award . In this roundtable interview, Dr. Sridhar is joined by Lucrezia Scoppio, Chair of the Awards Program Committee, and Dr. John Scully, Chair of the Whitney Award Task Force. The discussion surrounds the groundbreaking work he’s done throughout his distinguished career,...

Dr. Mersedeh Akhoondan is joining the Materials Performance (MP) Magazine team as Technical Editor. In that role, she is replacing Jack Tinnea, who is retiring in April 2025 after a distinguished career. In this position, Akhoondan is responsible for selecting and reviewing MP’s technical articles. She will collaborate with authors, members, and the magazine’s editorial advisory board to provide r...

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades ( IUPAT ) represents 140,000 workers in the finishing trades across the United States and Canada.  In this March 2025 episode, IUPAT’s Andrew Croll and Ken Seal share insights on the organization’s mission to support and train professionals in the coatings industry; its strategies pertaining to recruiting and retaining workers; emerging technol...