- 30 July 2007 -
It’s Show Time!

Seems like only a few months ago that we dropped the curtain on SUR/FIN ’06 in Milwaukee—a show that, in many minds, will go down as a history-making, momentum-building event for the surface finishing industry. But the time for looking back and taking stock is done; now we must turn our attention to SUR/FIN ’07 and all the promise this year’s show holds for our business.

First a quick review of the latest improvements and enhancements:

• A beefed-up conference technical program focused on the ever-important automotive and aerospace arenas. These include seminars touting the latest finishing methods and alternatives available;
• Targeted programming focused on OEMs with the aim of drawing more of them out to Cleveland to participate in—and network with you—at the show;
• The reincarnation of the Business Management Outlook, which has been updated with the goal of offering attendees advice on a host of critical day-to-day issues and challenges; and
• The launch of the Finishers’ Pavilion, a brand new exhibit area dedicated to some of the region’s most prominent surface finishers.

Many of these exciting improvements are due to the contributions and efforts of many individuals and groups—people who have been working diligently to ensure that SUR/FIN ’07 offers participants all the value and benefits they expect from the domestic finishing industry’s premier trade show. First up, hat’s off to all the talented and dedicated professionals at the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF), which, for the second consecutive year, is managing what is no doubt an incredibly complex and challenging undertaking. Special recognition for the show’s co-chairmen and technical conference coordinator—those who volunteer more than a little time toward this effort.

Then there are the numerous planning committees that have the unenviable task of combing over every minute detail of virtually every facet of the show. You’ve got your director of events, NASF Management Committee, SUR/FIN 2007 Events Committee, Technical Committee, Membership Services Team, AESF Foundation—you get the idea. Many kudos, too, to the show’s sponsors as well as all the dues-paying members who provide the critical funding that helps subsidize the show’s content, programming, and activities.

The stage is set, and now it’s “show time!” And by “show time” I’m not just talking about all the fanfare that goes along with the kickoff of an annual convention. It’s also time to “show” some love and support for SUR/FIN and all it represents to the surface finishing industry. Perhaps Mike McMonagle, liaison between the NASF Management Committee and the SUR/FIN 2007 Events Committee, put it best when he said: “It’s all of us working together making commitments to one another.”

Enough said.