In the fall of 2019, the Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) and NACE International (NACE) announced the two organizations chose a third party to help them better understand how the two organizations could align to better serve the protective coatings industry. Those talks continued through the end of 2019 and into early 2020. Discussions were held during the SSPC’s Coatings+ conference, and a vote on the potential merger is being brought before members April 3-17.
This post will serve as a thread for industrial coating contractors to share relevant information and discuss their thoughts so contractors can be on the same page.
Visit the SSPC-NACE merger resources page for more information on the merger. Have something to add to that page? Shoot us an email at fca@finishingcontractors.org to get it added!
Comment below with any thoughts or information you have to help others prepare for the vote in April.
Notice: Voting on the Merger is scheduled to take place from April 3-17.
Will the painting contractors voice be heard or relevant under the new organizational structure? Will the coatings voice be relevant at all? Per the Town Hall Meeting presentations, there is no constituency in the top tier board and advisory groups start in the third tier of the organization.
Jeff,
What are your thoughts on the long term impact if the contractors were not to have leadership above the third tier of the new organizations?
Since NACE is primarily an engineering association, I am concerned that the experience and practicality that contractors bring to the table will be lost. Additionally, in the NACE organization, “contractors” is a much broader term than is construed at SSPC. A Contractor Advisory Board in Tier 3 may lump all contractors together – painting, cathodic protection, welding, pipeline, etc. The new organization may be too large for the painting contractors’ voice to be heard.
The contractor representatives on SSPC’s current BOG may have some say in initial nominations to the new boards, but as there terms are phased out, that voice could be lost.
FYI – the SSPC-NACE webinar discussion with Sam Scaturro is up at the resources page!