TechForum Schedule

Last Updated: September 2026

Monday October 5

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Sustaining Member Committee Meeting (Courier Kitchen & Bar)

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM Clean Energy Steel (CES) Construction Center Meeting (Capitol Peak B)
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM Social Tour at Meow Wolf (Hotel Lobby Foyer)
Sponsor: Hasco-Thermic Ltd.
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Registration Open (Capitol Pre-Function/Foyer)
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM Lunch (Crystal Peak ABC)
Sponsor: ANI METAL
1:30 PM – 5:00 PM Technical Sessions (Capitol Peak A)
- 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Announcements & Introductions
- 2:30 pm - 2:40 pm AGA's 5-Year Strategic Plan, Melissa Lindsley (AGA)
- 2:40 pm - 2:55 pm Celebrating the People Behind TechForum’s Legacy: Past AGA Award Winners, Ryan Monnig (Monnig Industries, AGA Awards Chair)
- 2:55 pm - 3:15 pm Perspective Matters, Lora Stadelman (V&S) & Crystal Garcia (Valmont Coatings)
- 3:15 pm - 3:30 pm Coffee Break
- 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm Virtual Plant Tour of V&S Galvanizing New York, Amber Jackson (V&S Galvanizing - New York)
- 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Technology & Security Improvements: A Practical Guide, Alexandra Densmore (Elevate Services Group)
- 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm Managing Wet Storage Stain in Hot-Dip Galvanizing: Science, Solutions, and Customer Care, John Roy (Race Rock / Connecticut Galvanizing)
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Golden Casino Night (Crystal Peak ABC)

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Breakfast (Capitol Pre-Function/Foyer)
Sponsor: CIC Pittsburgh
8:30 AM – 11:10 AM Technical Sessions & Plant Tour Preview (Capitol Peak A)
- 8:30 am - 8:45 am Recognizing Peers, Elevating HDG, Bob Woods (Zaclon LLC) & John Roy (Race Rock / Connecticut Galvanizing)
- 8:45 am - 9:15 am Challenges with the Design of a Hybrid Galvanizing Furnace, Michael Patterson (Western Technologies)
- 9:15 am - 9:45 am Before the Dip: Customer Communication Before Galvanizing, Jason Scarborough
  (AZZ Metal Coatings)
- 9:45am - 10:00 am Coffee Break
  Sponsor: CIC Pittsburgh
- 10:00 am - 10:30 am Connecting Zinc Pricing & the LME to Plant Operations, Joe Husseini (EverZinc)
- 10:30 am - 11:00 am Regeneration of Hydrochloric Acid from Liquid Process Streams Containing Iron and Zinc Using Bipolar Electrodialysis, Daniel B. Nothaft, PhD (Uplift Geosystems LLC)
- 11:00 am - 11:10 am In-Person Plant Tour Preview: AZZ Galvanizing - Denver & Intermountain Electronics, Inc.
11:10 AM – 12:00 PM Lunch (Crystal Peak A)
Sponsor: AZZ Metal Coatings
12:00 PM – 3:30 PM Plant Tour of AZZ Galvanizing – Denver & Intermountain Electronics, Inc.
4:45 PM – 5:45 PM WiG Meeting & Networking Happy Hour Event (Crystal Peak Pre-Function/Capitol B)
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Networking Event (Holey Moley)
Sponsor: Teck Metals Ltd.

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM Breakfast (Capitol Pre-Function/Foyer)
Sponsor: APR Plastic Fabricating, Inc.
8:00 AM – 11:30 AM Technical Sessions & Interactive Panel Discussion (Capitol Peak A)
- 8:00 am - 8:30 am Study on the Factors Promoting the Occurrence of Fish-Boning on HDG Steel and How to Prevent its Formation, Eric Michaud (Corbec, Inc.)
- 8:30 am - 9:00 am Positioning Your Galvanizing Shop for Growth in the AI Era, Travis Buckingham (Steelhead Technologies)
- 9:00 am - 9:45 am Panel Discussion: Navigating EHS Questions for Administrative and Customer Service Teams, featuring Sally Buck and Alyssa Weber (Valmont Coatings), Andrew Marchioni (V&S Galvanizing), and Christine Kleen (AGA)
- 9:45 am - 10:00 am Coffee Break
  Sponsor: APR Plastic Fabricating, Inc.
- 10:00 am - 10:20 am 2025 Process Survey Results, Brandon Jones (AGA)
- 10:20 am - 10:45 am Update on CES initiatives, Jeff Suda (AGA / Clean Energy Steel Construction Center)
- 10:45 am - 11:30 am AGA Research & Technical Dept. Updates, Alana Fossa & Emmanuel Ramirez (AGA)
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM Master Galvanizer Seminar #1: Overview of the Galvanizing Process, Quality, and Inspection (Crystal Peak BC)