The Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC) Spring Convention and Expo will take place April 18-20 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. The three-day event will include concurrent technical sessions focusing on business development and market trends, government relations issues, and advanced technology, as well as an Expo.

Dave Dunn's March 2016 column.

Manufacturers of high-quality process equipment will claim that their machines are engineered to run trouble-free for decades—and this statement is not always an exaggeration.

Formulating pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) presents a number of complex challenges. The adhesive must flow and set without activation from anything more than the pressure of a hand, remain permanently tacky, and exhibit a strong bond—often to a variety of substrates, such as wood, glass, or metal—for as long as the application requires or until the end user decides to remove it.

As chair of the Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC) for 2015-2016, I wanted to pose a few questions to you, the readers of ASI.

I work in the technical department developing coatings based on various polymer backbones. I am familiar with typical polyurethane raw materials, but have recently become aware of polyaspartic coatings. Could you provide an overview of this technology?

Global consumption of coatings, adhesives, sealants and inks (CASI) was 54.1 million tons in 2014, worth $182.6 billion, according to Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney. Volume growth is forecast at a 5% annual rate, with coatings, adhesives and sealants matching the overall growth, but inks trailing at only 2% per year.

New Orleans is a study in contrasts. From boozy Bourbon Street and the mansions of the Garden District, to the various voodoo, literary, and culinary tours, New Orleans has many personalities.