AIMCAL Expands Converting School

Fort Mill, SC - Building on a successful launch in 2008, the Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators (AIMCAL) is offering an expanded Converting School curriculum in 2009. Three subjects have been added to the year-long series of courses on converting topics. Plus, additional European sessions have been scheduled, bringing the total number of classes to 20, evenly divided between Europe and the United States.

Nine courses on critical converting topics will be held in 2009: Adhesion and Adhesives (U.S.), Flexible Packaging – Specification, Design & Conversion of Polymers (Europe), Optimizing Extrusion-Based Lamination and Coating Technology (Europe), Roll-to-Roll Vacuum Deposition (Europe), Web Coating and Drying (U.S. and Europe), Web Handling and Converting (U.S. and Europe), Web Processing for Barrier (Europe), and Winding: Machines, Mechanics and Measurements (U.S. and Europe). Multiple sessions are scheduled for some courses. Classes begin in March 2009 in Brussels, Belgium, and Cleveland, Ohio, and conclude in November in Brussels. A complete schedule is attached.

Course content focuses on real-world problem solving for experienced converting professionals such as engineers, lead operators, foremen, and personnel working in maintenance, quality assurance, sales, or customer service.

"The goals of each Converting School course are enhanced productivity and profit," says Craig Sheppard, executive director of AIMCAL. "Students learn strategies to optimize processes, improve product quality, reduce waste and expedite new product development so they can begin reaping benefits as soon as they get home," he explains.

Courses are taught by leading technical experts and tailored for the students in each class. New to the faculty for 2009 is Dr. Al Pocius, a corporate scientist at 3M Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, who will be teaching Adhesion and Adhesives, September 15-16, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois. Co-author of the American Chemical Society Audio Course on Adhesion and Adhesives, Pocius has published more than 50 papers and articles and holds 23 U.S. Patents. The second edition of his book, Adhesion and Adhesives Technology - An Introduction, has been translated into Japanese, Chinese, and Russian.

Other instructors include AIMCAL Technical Consultants, Dr. Edward Cohen of Edward D. Cohen Consulting, Fountain Hills, Arizona; and Dr. Eldridge Mount III of EMMOUNT Technologies, Fairport, New York; as well as Dr. Charles Bishop of C.A. Bishop Consulting Ltd., Loughborough, England; Dr. E.J. (Ted) Lightfoot of the Display Films and Coatings business of DuPont Co., Wilmington, Delaware; Dr. Kenneth McCarthy of Clean Room Coating Solutions, Duxbury, Massachusetts; Dr. David Roisum of Finishing Technologies, Inc., Neenah, Wisconsin; and Dr. Jonathan Summers and Dr. Harvey Thompson of the University of Leeds, Leeds, England.

Each class begins at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. and runs through 5 p.m. each day. Cost of each class is $899, with a 10% discount for AIMCAL members and those registering for multiple classes. AIMCAL members attending more than one class save 20%.

Program details and registration information are accessible via the new Converting Portal, www.convertingportal.com, as well as on the Converting School website, www.convertingschool.com

SOURCE: AIMCAL