


Udo Schonhoff works since 1995 in the coating additives industry. He has built in-depth knowledge on technical application and technical service of additives in many systems such as coatings, sealants, adhesives and construction as well as inks. Udo Schonhoff is 21 years with Elementis and is since 2018 working in his current position as "Technical Sales Manager" being responsible for the coating additives in the EMEIA region.

Mihai Polverejan is currently employed by Elementis Specialties Corporation as a Technical Service Manager for Industrial and Construction Coating Applications for North and South American regions. He has over fourteen years of experience in the area of rheology, coating formulations, additives and colorants. Prior to joining in Elementis Specialties in 2004, he held a research position with a carbon nanofiber manufacturer and completed a postdoctoral fellowship with University of Connecticut. He received a Ph. D. degree in Chemistry from Michigan State University in 2001.

Chris Sieto is currently the Regional Market Manager for Elementis Specialties for North and South America. His responsibilities include product development, pricing and promotion for the Industrial Coating, Architectural Coating, Adhesives and Construction markets. He has over 20 years of marketing experience in the area of minerals and chemicals for the paper, construction and coatings industries. Chris has a B.S. in Earth & Mineral Science from Penn State and a MBA from Lehigh University.

Veli Kilpeläinen is educated as Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Chemistry. He graduated in 1986 from Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, after which he worked as polymer researcher at Neste Chemicals – current Borealis Polymers. His responsibility at Neste Chemicals was to develop multi-step polymerisation technology for new generation polyethylene product family. In 1993 he joined to the talc business and to the current company. He started as a Research and Customer Service Engineer for paint industry. Since 1997 he has worked as Global Technical Sales Manager for paints, putties, ceramics and other industrial applications.

Brough Richey, Elementis Technical Sales Manager, provides customer technical assistance for additive applications targeting decorative coatings and construction materials. He has a strong background in coatings formulation, application science and new business development. Brough’s exceptional and in-depth presentation discusses: “Coating Flow Processes and Testing”, “Rheological Additive’s for Water Based Coatings”, and "Selecting the Right Thickener for Proper End Use and Application”.