2026 Coating Course Schedule

Day 1

Tuesday, July 21, 2026
7:30 a.m.	Registration Open
8:00 a.m.	Intro/Safety/Logistics	Shawn Mortimore
8:15 a.m.	Why are aqueous coatings used?	Scott McNutt
9:00 a.m.	Importance of Substrate for Coating	Scott McNutt
9:45 a.m.	Break
10:00 a.m.	Pigments I - Clays, Ti02, Silica, and Platy Pigment Barrier Strategy	Prakash Malla
11:30 p.m.	Lunch and Intros
12:30 p.m.	Pigments II - Carbonates, Synthetic, Barrier Strategy	Steve Ottone
1:45 p.m.	Synthetic Binders	Alan Piwowar
2:45 p.m.	Break
3:00 p.m.	Natural Binders in Paper Coatings	Meggan Hostetler-Schrock
4:00 p.m.	Coating Formulations-Meeting Customer & Process Demands	Gordon Bugg
5:00 p.m.	Wrap Up
6:00 p.m.	Social Event and Dinner	Bell's Brewery

Wednesday, July 22, 2026
8:00 a.m.	Day 1 Recap, Day 2 Introduction	Shawn Mortimore
8:15 a.m.	Coating additives	Gordon Bugg
9:45 a.m.	Break
10:00 a.m.	Coating Makedown	Gordon Bugg
10:45 a.m.	Rheology and Viscosity	John Roper
11:30 a.m.	Lunch
12:00 p.m.	Tours—Western Michigan University Pilot Plants
12:45 p.m.	Coating Application and Metering	Mike Paczkowski
2:00 p.m.	Curtain Coating Technology	Brad Fadden
3:00 p.m.	Break
3:15 p.m.	Drying and Web Handling Systems for Applied Coatings	Herb Kohler
4:00 p.m.	WMU Student/Faculty Research	Kecheng Li
4:45 p.m.	Wrap Up
6:00 p.m.	Social Hour	TBD

Thursday, July 23, 2026
8:00 a.m.	Day 2 Recap, Day 3 Introduction	Shawn Mortimore
8:30 a.m.	Printing Processes and Requirements for Their Substrates	Susan Bailey
9:30 a.m.	Recyclability Testing of Fiber Based Products in North America	Shawn Mortimore
10:15 a.m.	Break
10:30 a.m.	Challenges to More Sustainable Barrier Packaging	Jim Fogg
11:15 a.m.	Barrier Coatings: Fundamentals, Requirements, and Testing	Brian Einsla
12:00 p.m.	Lunch
12:30 p.m.	Tours—Western Michigan University Paper Labs
1:00 p.m.	A Manufacturers View on the Applications and Economics of Sustainable Barriers In Lightweight Paper Pkg	Scott Peplinski
2:00 p.m.	TBD	TBD
3:00p.m.	Wrap Up