The LCM Journey – an Anniversary.
Ralph Jan W?rheide
Unternehmer | Business Developer | Botschafter für Innovation in der Chemischen Industrie | Vorstand der Smart Paint Factory Alliance
It’s about 10 years ago when I made the first units of the Liquid Color Measurement System (LCM) in my garage in Wuppertal, Germany.
At that time, I just had the feeling that it was a game changer for the paint industry. Years of missionary work followed, supported by Hendrik Hustert , co-founder of ORONTEC.
Together, we rode through Germany sending our message:
This device helps you to bring production to the next level.
At the beginning, everybody was skeptical – too good to be true.
“Does this really work?”
“We have tried hard to make something work in liquid color measurement, why do you think you can do better?”
And my favorite:
“If that thing works, someone else would have invented it already!”
Thousands of hours spent, endless discussions, but finally a lot of installations of our Liquid Color Measurement Technology. At the beginning, we were lucky to find pioneers in the industry to support us: Volker Letsch , Manfred Dr. Wunsch , Dr. Frank J. Maile , Juan Carlos Fernández Bécares and many others.
From Korea to California, we have helped customers reduce their cycle times and increase productivity with LCM.
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Here and now, I see that the paint and coatings industry is catching up.
Maybe it is a conservative industry.
But after my long journey, I must say:
-?????????I find open-minded, friendly, and ambitious people, who love what they do.
-?????????Quality is an important factor for everyone in this industry.
-?????????It took time to catch up, but there is a big change taking place.
I am honored to have been and still be part of this journey, working on new things (you bet on that). ORONTEC’s LCM technology is getting more and more raging fans every day.
It seems that our years of hard work are paying back now. What do you think – do you also see an increasing willingness for change in this industry?
Look forward to your comments!
Paints and Coatings
1 年Building the data base of the approved wet material seems like a monumental task for previously developed colors which were approved on a dry film.?
Vice President at SCHLENK Metallic Pigments GmbH
1 年Dear Jan, congrats to the anniversary and thanks for your kind reference. At the end it was an interesting ride and a pleasure to support LCM in its early days. Let‘s keep pushing innovation forward in our industry for the sake of pleasure, business and sustainability. Frank
engineering for a better future
1 年The story shows once again that it is not enough to have a good idea, but also a lot of commitment, perseverance, patience and of course partners / customers who are willing to break new ground. Nice to hear that the effort has paid off and the breakthrough is emerging. Good luck and stay true to yourselves. ??