2002 Aerospace Coatings Removal and Coatings Conference moves to Florida

San Antonio -- August 31, 2001 -- Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®) will host the 2002 Aerospace Coatings Removal and Coatings Conference May 6-9, 2002, at the Adams Mark Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida. The annual conference attracts 200 to 300 military and commercial aircraft fleet maintenance and operations personnel, researchers, and original equipment manufacturers. The conference includes technical presentations, exhibits, and other events.

"For the 2002 conference, we will solicit more presentations from the commercial airlines industry to provide additional sources of information and to fulfill the requests of last year's attendees," said Chuck Cundiff, 2002 Aerospace Coatings Removal and Coatings Conference organizer at SwRI. "This conference provides a focus on technical and management issues important to industry as well as the military. It provides a forum for those trying to work on innovative solutions for current issues in the areas of aerospace coatings removals and coatings."

Compliance with federal and state environmental regulations is an important challenge in this field. The coatings removal and coatings industry must meet stringent requirements set by the Environmental Protection Agency while trying to operate cost effectively, according to Cundiff, an SwRI senior research technologist. Cundiff is also the SwRI technical lead for the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Depaint Test Center operations.

Technical presentations will be selected by SwRI, the U.S. Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office, and the U.S. Air Force Coatings Technology Integration Office. In past years, topics ranged from technology success stories to environmental regulation impacts to the assessment of current and future technology needs.

SwRI has extensive experience in the evaluation of aircraft coatings and paints, application and removal techniques, and paint testing. This is the second year the nonprofit research and development organization has hosted the conference.

For more information, contact Tracey M.S. Whelan, Communications, at (210) 522-2256.