ACE, the International Conference for Water, which is administered by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), promotes all phases of the water industry and its infrastructure. It is dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence in supplying safe drinking water to all of humanity. Tex Enoch was honored to be asked to do an interview about Induron and its role in this industry.
Induron’s Water Tank Market Manager, Tex Enoch understands the importance of not only supplying the water market with proven technology, but also supplying customers with exceptional support.
Q: Tell us about Induron. What’s your focus?
A: Founded in 1947, Induron Protective Coatings is a family-owned industrial coatings manufacturing company. We specialize in coatings for water and waste water as well as coatings for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), power generation and transmission industries. My particular focus is on coatings that protect and enhance the life span of potable water storage tanks.
Q: What would you say makes your business unique?
A: Three generations of family ownership and management have resulted in a company that treats is employees, customers and suppliers as true partners and family members. We ALWAYS stand with our customers and behind our products. Induron developed ceramic coating technology specifically for ductile iron sewage pipes over 30 years ago. In the last decade was have transferred that technology to the water storage industry and are in the process of revolutionizing that market.
Q: What are your greatest challenges in this industry?
A: I think our challenge is convincing people that true innovation can come from a small company. Induron competes with the giants of the coatings industry on every level. Getting our story about our ceramic coatings out into the industry is a challenge we face daily. The customers we have that are using these products are our greatest promoters. Ten years ago, when I was hired by Induron, I told the owners that when I retired I would like to see Induron everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains. We are very close to achieving that goal!
Q: Which Induron products will be featured in this show?
A: Our water tank products, certainly. Induron’s Permaclean 100 is a 100% solids, ceramic reinforced epoxy that is applied at a dry film thickness between 25 and 35 mils. The ceramic beads in the dried film nest in such a manner that they form an almost impermeable water vapor barrier. The high film build that can be achieved in a single coat greatly enhances this protective barrier. It is solvent free and the fact that it has ZERO VOC’s makes it an ideal coating when in contact with potable water. We also offer ceramic technology in our TL70. This product also can be applied at very high film thicknesses and has the advantage of being able to be applied by conventional equipment. However, it does contain some solvent, so proper ventilation is a must. An additional product that we will introduce at ACE is our 9400 INDURLUX Polysiloxane exterior finish coat. It is 90% solids and free of all isocyanates. It not only offers outstanding gloss and color retention, but it can also be easily applied.
Q: Who are your end users?
A: Our end users are the contractors who apply our coatings. They are trained specialists who must climb, rig, ventilate and sometimes shroud these complex structures. The coatings they use must be easily applied like Induron’s products.
However, when the contractor leaves, the owner of these tanks need to be assured that the applied systems will last giving them years of maintenance-free service. These owners rely on their engineers to provide them the guidance required to generate proper specifications that will insure this will be accomplished. So in reality, our end user is the owner, specifier and applicator of our coatings. We need to reach out to all of these entities, and in the case of a new tank, the fabricator, in order to successfully market our products. A show like ACE provides us with the opportunity to do just that – all at the same time.
Q: To what do you attribute your company’s success?
A: It may sound corny, but we really do live by our mission statement, “Reliable Protection Through Innovative Coatings.” When everyone on the team marches to the same mission and lives by our core values of integrity, respect, reliability and innovation, we create a corporate culture that provides the best products and service in the protective coatings industry.
Q: How can our readers find out more about Induron Protective Coatings?
A: Visit our website at www.induron.com. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Stop by our booth at ACE or contact one of our local reps.