Tom Bowtell, CEO of the British Coatings Federation, has taken over as Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Surface Coatings Interest Group. The group now has over 300 members, with a very active committee organising events and outreach to help bring together the industrial and academic communities with an
On June 27th, over 50 guests from the coatings, printing inks and associated industries gathered to celebrate a new chapter in the 106-year history of the British Coatings Federation. The Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor John Blundell, together with BCF president David Beckford and BCF CEO Tom Bowtell, cut the
Tom Bowtell, CEO of the British Coatings Federation, has taken over as Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Surface Coatings Interest Group. The group now has over 300 members, with a very active committee organising events and outreach to help bring together the industrial and academic communities with an interest in surface coatings. The first meeting in 2021 was held remotely earlier in January, and has led to two events planned for the Spring – Raising the Standard of Standards for the Coatings Community in March, and a ChemCareers webinar in April on Careers in Coatings. On his new role, Tom Bowtell commented, “I am pleased to have taken over the role of Chair at the RSC Surface Coatings Interest Group. Inspiring the future generation of chemists and highlighting the benefits of working in the coatings industry are imperative to the sustainability of our industry, which will be one of the drivers during my period in the Chair. I’m looking forward to helping develop and expand many of the excellent initiatives the group has worked on in the last couple of years under the guidance of outgoing chair Jonathan Bourne, secretary Andrew Milton Thomson and treasurer Jeff Kelsey.” The new team includes Laura Merritt, who has taken over as secretary and Ian Hay from PRA as treasurer, with Stuart Clark from Cambridge University continuing to chair the technical committee.
On June 27th, over 50 guests from the coatings, printing inks and associated industries gathered to celebrate a new chapter in the 106-year history of the British Coatings Federation. The Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor John Blundell, together with BCF president David Beckford and BCF CEO Tom Bowtell, cut the ribbon on the trade body’s new state of the art building ‘Spectra House’ in Westwood Business Park, Coventry. Coventry was selected due to its central location for member meetings, excellent transport links and good value for money. The stand-alone building spans two floors – the BCF staff situated on the ground floor, with three dedicated meeting rooms, each fitted with state of the art wireless touch screens. Commenting on the move, BCF President and Managing Director of Pronto Paints, David Beckford said: “It is a fantastic milestone in our recent history to be able to afford to invest in our own building, and gives us a long term secure location for our members to meet.” Tom Bowtell, BCF’s CEO added “We’ve put together a great new back office team to support the members from our new home – we look forward to welcoming members and guests to Coventry in the near future.”
