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Expert has spent over 28 years in the web coating industry. He has experience in wax coating, hot melt, solvent coating, solventless coating, and emulsion coating on a wide variety of webs, from light weight films and foils to SBS boards and heavy films and vinyls. He has worked with companies in the USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Finland, France, Denmark, and Germany.

The application of the coating to the web is at the heart of any coating operation. Expert has had extensive experience in a number of coating methods including roll coating, reverse roll, direct roll, 5-roll multi-roll, 3-roll offset, offset gravure, slot, die, pressure, saturators, rod, and Meyer rod coating. He has been used extensively to advise companies on determining the best coating method for a given application and in laying out the best coating line configuration consistent with the customers needs. In addition, Expert's knowledge of coatings, coating rheology, materials, and his application experience has let him help a number of companies with their processes of coating problems.


Expert maintains that the proper tension control, tracking, and rewinding is critical to producing an acceptable finished web product. He has extensive experience in determining proper web handling conditions, trouble shooting web tracking problems (see Web Tracking), and setting the proper taper tension on the rewind for different web materials. He has served as a consultant for companies in reducing waste due to improper web handling conditions.

In order to provide the maximum control over the web, Expert has become adept with the equipment used for web handling. This includes unwinds, nip rolls, drag brakes, coating process, oven conditions, laminations, and rewinds. As a consultant, Expert has helped companies specify and select their equipment and, on existing installations, he has provided a survey of the system along with recommendations.

Expert is knowledgeable of the number of factors affecting web tracking. He has worked with machine alignment, web condition (baggy edges, wrinkles, etc.), tension control, web slip, surface friction, differential draws, spreader rolls, and devices (such as bowed rolls). He has worked with all of these factors in his role as consultant and the several production positions he has held.



Many companies are purchasing coated webs, manufacturing coated webs, or are considering backward integrating their operation to produce their own coated webs. Expert has served as a consultant to companies purchasing coated webs, helping them set up purchasing specification and in-house quality control procedures. For companies in the business of coating webs, Expert's service has been in the form of helping them develop new products and providing an objective outside opinion on new ventures or capitol improvements. Some companies, having determined that it may be to their advantage to manufacture their own coated webs (backward integration), have used Expert to specify equipment, participate in vendor negotiations, train the operators, and provide start-up assistance.


Expert has used his experience in adhesive formulating, material selection, market studies, and environmental testing to help clients determine appropriate adhesives for various end use applications. This has included establishing adhesive design criteria and formula selection for applications requiring oxygen and water vapor barrier properties, specialty pressure sensitive adhesive applications that had to adhere to difficult surfaces. This also applies to medical device adhesives that had to meet specific light transmission requirements. He brings nearly 30 years of experience to this area.

In some cases companies adding new equipment or product lines require new manufacturing facilities (i.e. building, coating equipment, QC labs, etc.). Expert has helped a few companies with overseeing the complete project under budget and on time. He has worked with general contractors and subcontractors.

Expert has designed coating machinery for various coating applications and those designs are still being used today. As National Sales Director of one of the major machine builders and as President of another, Expert has considerable experience in coating machinery design. In addition, as a long-time consultant to the coating, converting, and laminating industries, he has a deep understanding of the processes involved and has applied this knowledge to coating machinery.


Expert has formulated barrier coatings, pressure sensitive adhesives, release coatings (both silicone and non-silicone), and hot melt coatings. He has in-depth knowledge of ethylene-vinyl acetate hot melt adhesives, hot melt adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesive, silicone coating material, and solvent adhesives.

This is the functionality required of the coating. Expert has developed several test methods for the release and pressure sensitive markets to determine if the products meet the end use requirements.

Expert is familiar with analyzing the amount of coating applied to the substrate, which is normally expressed as weight per unit area (i.e. grams per sq. meter). The ideal coat weight varies by application and at times it is the lowest possible weight and in other conditions there is a very narrow window for good performance. Expert has had considerable experience in determining the ideal coating weights and in explaining the conditions effecting the target range.


Expert is an expert in EVA hot melt adhesives, the most common packaging and laminating hot melt material. The EVA provides excellent flexibility and is soluble in paraffin wax. Expert understands that EVA hot melts not only can bond to a wide variety of surfaces (with the addition of suitable resins) but it also can provide both water vapor and oxygen barrier properties. He has been involved in formulating and applying EVA and EEA hot melts since 1969.


Expert's experience with flexible coating materials covers a wide range, from various papers to a number of new films. The design of a good product requires the best choice in both functionality and cost. He has the required knowledge of available materials and a strong network of resources to help clients choose the material that will best fit their needs.


Knowing that this class of thermoplastic adhesives has a blend of good properties at reasonable costs, Expert has been formulating and using hot melts for over 28 years. He organized and chaired the first Pressure Sensitive Hot Melt conference and has done considerable work in this field.


Expert has expertise with pressure sensitive labels, one of the fastest growing packaging and labeling segments. This technology continues to be refined and developed. Expert has been in the unique position of managing a pressure sensitive coating operation, consulting in this industry, and providing sales support into various label houses.


Much of the coating required for medical devices is very similar to traditional coating operations. As a consultant, Expert has worked in solving coating and laminating problems relating to the manufacture of several medical devices. This has included blood chemistry testing devices and transdermal drug delivery systems.


As Vice President of Operations for Zimmer Paper Products, as a consultant to several paper mills, and in his capacity of specifying and selling paper and film finishing equipment, Expert has significant experience with the finishing processes. He can answer questions on score, crush, and razor blade slitting; the use of driven and undriven lay-on rolls; and center winding, surface winding, and center-surface winding.


Expert understands the critical processes involved in paper, film, and foil laminating. He has been involved in projects from solving field problems to helping customers select the best equipment for their operation.


One of the critical aspects of winding is the taper tension profile. Expert has had significant experience in developing optimum winding profiles for difficult to wind materials such as silicone coated papers and films.

Expert has been coating and developing pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) since 1969. As Project Manager at Riegal, he developed some of the first PSA hot melts. At Zimmer Paper Products, he established their PS program. At Kleenstik-Fasson, he directed the development and manufacture of PSA coated products. He has consulted extensively in this area, covering areas such as formulations, application technology, process control, marketing.


Expert has worked with the test methods developed by the TAPPI and TLMI organizations. In addition, he has simplified some of the methods for quicker response times and has developed unique test methods for silicone cure.


Roll products covers a very wide range of possible end uses. Expert has provided marketing assistance and marketing reports in the areas of roll label face stock, thermal transfer label stock, and general market overviews for the roll label industry.


As the primary release agent for pressure sensitive adhesives, silicone coating materials are an essential ingredient to PS lamination. Expert began working with silicone release agents in 1969 as manager of a release coating group. In 1972 Expert again focused part of his attention to the technology of coating silicones, which included their chemistry and cure properties. While at Fasson he was able to do much additional work on silicone chemistry, coating methods, and production difficulties.


Expert has over 28 years experience in roll coating, from very low coat weight applications on delicate webs such as 1/4 mil polyester and .00035 Al foil to heavy (15 mils) coatings on vinyl for special industrial applications. In his work as a consultant he has worked on almost every category of applications, including 3- roll direct coating (for high viscosity coatings), 3-roll reverse (for improved coating smoothness on webs that can handle the increased stress and shear), 4-roll coating (for 100% solventless laminating adhesives), and 5-roll coating for very low coatweights such as those used in solventless silicone coating. Expert is also proficient with gravure (direct, indirect, and reverse) and offset gravure coating processes.


In paper and film coating the silicone coating is cured into a macromolecule. Incomplete cure results in free silicone that can contaminate surfaces it comes in contact with. Expert has been involved in a number of studies on the relative affect of this silicone on various adhesives and the affects on downstream properties such as die cutting. In addition to the direct contamination due to uncured silicone, there is also the condition, during solventless silicone coating at high speed, where the silicone coating forms a mist that can also be a contaminate. Expert has limited experience in controlling silicone misting.


Silicone coatings are supplied in three forms: solvent, 100% solids (solventless), and emulsion. Until recently, emulsion silicones were used only for non-critical applications. Today's latest chemistries have provided release ranges and product consistency that allow emulsion silicones to be used for premium roll label release agents. Expert has worked with and continues to work with emulsion silicones as well as solventless and solvent based.


In solvent adhesives, Expert's experience has been in the field of pressure sensitive adhesives. In the 1980s he was involved in formulating solvent PSA adhesives. Since then his work has been in the application and testing of solvent PSA adhesives.


Through his experience and a wide range of coating operations, Expert has worked extensively with the drying and curing processes and has used a number of key experts in this area.


Expert has been involved in the adhesive lamination of films and foils since 1969. With the advent of solventless adhesives using a 4-roll coater for the adhesive application and lamination, Expert has had increasing involvement with the coating application and equipment design.

Slot coating was developed in 1967 by George Park. Expert worked on the first slot coater in 1969 at Riegal Paper Company. Since then he has chaired a number of conferences on high-viscosity coating and consulted on high-viscosity coatings.


Expert has helped design adhesive application equipment. He was the President of the world’s largest adhesive application equipment manufacturer, Kroenert, and was the National Sales Director for Geometric Machine and Design, a major converting machine builder. He has lectured worldwide on the design, use, selection, and running of adhesive application machines.

"...it shortened our learning curve more than 50%” --Hans Peter Pinger, Production Manager, Germany."The recommended formulation was slightly more expensive, but it solved a far more costly quality problem" --Francois Mathevet, Technical Director, France."We can't be experts in everything. That's hard for some people to admit. Managers have to guard against the 'NIH Syndrome.' That's why we brought him in and we're better off because of it" --Plant Manager, USA.“We will never install another coater/laminator without availing ourselves of this advantage. The benefits were obvious" --Albert Bodefeld, Managing Director, Germany."One of the lasting benefits for us has been the continuing dialog and the informal exchange of ideas" --Richard Hirst, Technical Director, UK.