In issue 02/2010, Werner Krömmer asked where the Newcomers’ travels would take them to next. Just under nine months later, the direction is more or less clear. After a very interesting and well-attended meeting in Duiven/NL hosted by the company Flame Spray Technologies (FST), there is good reason to believe in the positive destiny of these meetings in the future. But let’s start at the beginning.

At the GTS Annual General Meeting in Weimar, the announcement was made that the current Newcomers wished to hand over the organization of the GTS subgroup to their successors. We hope, however, that the former will continue to participate in our future sessions for a long time to come. The responsibility has now been passed on to a new generation, and Jeroen Jutte (FST) and Jörn Putzier (PUTZIER Oberflächentechnik) agreed to take on the challenge. The aim was to perpetuate and maintain the positive key idea the Newcomers set out with.

Dr Stefan Zimmermann (H.C. Strack) explains the interplay of powder composition and final coating properties.		HVOF ethanol process, which is currently under development, is presented with the help of a prototype.

After all, Newcomer sessions provide new members and new employees of member companies a suitable platform for making contacts and for networking beyond the Annual General Meetings and within GTS.

The “new start” got us thinking and we decided to give our Newcomer events the necessary publicity, to jog everyone’s memory, so to speak. We wrote to all GTS members asking interested employees to sign up for the next meeting. The positive reaction was amazing. What pleased us more than anything was the response from so many colleagues from the Netherlands who had recently joined the association, and from long-serving GTS-ites who have accompanied the Newcomers for many
years now.

Newcomer@GTS supplied their audience with top-quality technical insight (from left): Menno Zwetsloot, Dr Stefan Zimmermann, Dr Fons Theisen.

FST in Duiven was the ideal venue for the meeting – so the journey took us to our friendly neighbouring country, the Netherlands. In true tradition, the get-together began with a relaxed evening meal. The great atmosphere and enjoyable, informative conversation ensured that everything got off to a good start.

The next morning, we all visited our host, FST. Three different and very interesting topics promised to make it a stimulating day. First of all, FST briefly introduced itself and its extensive business activities as a “One Stop Shop”. This was then followed by a presentation of the HVOF ethanol process which FST is currently optimizing for production purposes. Compared to HVOF using kerosene, the new process will offer such advantages as a broader range of useable temperatures, a lower energy requirement and higher safety. Menno Zwetsloot (FST) knew how to arouse our curiosity. His highly interesting presentation supported by a prototype was the kick-off for the first round of shoptalk. At the moment, the system is in the development phase, but will be ready to market by the end of 2012.

After a short coffee break, Dr. Stefan Zimmermann (H.C. Starck) immersed us in the world of H.C. Starck powders. In his entertaining manner, he explained the interplay between powder composition and the resulting coating properties based on carbides as the sample powder.

The final speaker, Dr. Fons Theisen (Camfil), refreshed our memories on the importance of good exhaust systems.

The Newcomer@GTS meeting 2011 provided the opportunity for in-depth discussion of the relevant topics.

A final session rounded off a very successful meeting. The basic sentiments were positive throughout. And this endorses the fact that, after FST/Duiven, there will be continued interest in such meetings, which is motivation enough to stay on the ball. So the answer to Werner Krömmer’s question, “Where are the Newcomers heading to from here?” is clear: full steam ahead into the future!

The University of Chemnitz has offered to host the next meeting, which will most likely take place on 23 April 2012. On the evening before, there will be a traditional get-together. A separate invitation will be sent to all member companies well in time.

To finish off, we would like to once again thank FST for their kind and generous hospitality.