LIMA, Ohio – Three executives from MetoKote Corp. were recently honored with awards at the biennial ECOAT Conference held in Louisville, Ky. Out of the four awards presented, two MetoKote individuals received the George E.F. Brewer Award for their outstanding contributions to the field of electrocoat (e-coat) technology.

Jeff Oravitz, MetoKote global vice president, business development, received the George E.F. Brewer Award in recognition of his contributions and service to the market promotion of electrocoat technology. Oravitz served as vice president of the Electrocoat Association from 1997 to 1998 and has authored numerous articles and presentations regarding applications and developments in the field of electrocoating.

The second Brewer Award was presented posthumously to the late Lyle Gilbert. Gilbert retired from MetoKote in 2000 after spending more than 25 years in various roles with the company. Gilbert was very active in the electrocoating industry during his tenure with MetoKote, serving on the Electrocoat Association board and authoring several technical papers. After retirement, Gilbert remained influential in the promotion of electrocoat technology through his work as a coating consultant. He served as a monthly columnist for Products Finishing magazine and as moderator for the magazine’s online e-coat forum. Gilbert was also selected in recognition of his contributions and service to the market promotion of electrocoat technology.

In addition, Brent Schwartz, MetoKote vice president, engineering, was selected as the Electrocoat Association’s Best End-User Paper recipient for his white paper entitled, “Creating a Lean Workflow.”

Schwartz was instrumental in the design, fabrication and construction of a new, patent-pending electrocoat system. This new lean system utilizes a compact, flexible design that is re-deployable, allowing original equipment manufacturers to shorten their supply chain and reduce cost.

“We are honored and humbled to have our individuals recognized at this year’s conference,” said DeWayne Pinkstaff, MetoKote president and CEO. “There are many outstanding individuals in this industry who give much of their time and talent to the success of electrocoating technology. I am proud our individuals are equally involved and committed to this endeavor.”

MetoKote, headquartered in Lima, Ohio, provides environmentally sound and cost-effective coating solutions to a wide variety of industries such as agriculture, appliance, automotive, computer, construction equipment, electrical, furniture, industrial equipment, recreational, and truck and bus. The company serves more than 900 customers in more than 30 facilities throughout the United States and the world.