Commitment to the industry

By Santiago Jaramillo H.

It could be said that some people have their destiny mapped out practically from birth, this often due to external factors such as family and the business legacy that it can offer; others, on the contrary, find throughout their lives certain signs that show them where they should direct their efforts in order to achieve success, but definitely the most important thing is to achieve that feeling of satisfaction and pride in what is done.

This last reference could well be the case of our guest for this edition of the magazine INPRA LATINA, Gerardo Gurrola Togasi, who has 30 years in the paints and coatings industry, and currently serves as Director of Research, Development and Projects of the company Sherwin Williams S.A. de C.V.

Gurrola was born in Mexico City 55 years ago, graduated as a chemical engineer from the Autonomous University of Mexico in 1981, and was certified as a coating inspector in nuclear plants at the Institute of Applied Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA), and received the designation as a certified coating inspector by the National Association of Corrosion Engeeniers (NACE).

Our Professional of the Month has in his wife and children one of the main bastions in his life, so at the same time as his career he has solidified a beautiful family.

"I am happily married for 30 years, my wife Bertha Alicia Pinal, also studied the same career as me, we were classmates of the university, God has given us the fortune of having four children: Gerardo (29 years old), Alethia (27), Elisabet (22), Rebeca (20)", says Gurrola.

Thirty years of experience
Throughout his professional career Gerardo Gurrola has been fortunate to go through some of the most prestigious companies in his country and even the United States. In each of them he has sought to leave his grain of sand and, at the same time, has internalized knowledge, the same that today have him as one of the authorized voices when talking about paints and coatings.

"For a little more than 30 years I have been working in the field of anticorrosive coatings, I have had to cover almost every area in the field of paints and coatings, I have directed application work for more than two million square meters, participated as a technical service manager, sales and production manager. In one sentence, my working life has been immersed in paintings, including a brief foray as a supplier to the paint industry. A former colleague used to say: 'Painting has two big problems: stain and envicia', "said Gurrola wanting to point out that those who start in this field, most likely will continue in it for the rest of their working life.

In search of knowledge
On the other hand, this representative of the industry accepts that although he already has a long career in the world of paintings, he still feels that he has a long way to go in terms of research and development.

"I want to conduct real research in the field of anticorrosive coatings, we have already started an ambitious project involving personnel from several countries in Europe, in addition to the United States and Mexico, through the use of nanotechnology," he acknowledges.

In this same sense, our guest maintains that currently in his country good manufacturing processes of paints and coatings are advanced, however there are some formulation failures due to two fundamental reasons: the lack of precise information of what is expected of the coating, for example application or exposure conditions; and an insufficient period of field testing or too small tests that are not representative of reality.

Meanwhile, and with regard specifically to production failures, Gurrola stresses that unforgivable failures are evident such as not respecting the order of addition that the laboratory determined, changing one raw material for another, using deficient or excessive materials, and not respecting the times in the different processes.

Contributions to the industry
Throughout his professional career Gerardo Gurrola has been immersed in various initiatives aimed at contributing to the development of the paints and coatings industry and, as he himself recognizes, his efforts and achievements have focused on three specific fronts: social, technical and business.

Regarding social achievements, Gurrola assures that among the most important are: "Raise awareness among both manufacturers and consumers about the importance of producing and consuming products free of heavy metals, phenolic derivatives, low level of organic volatiles, in short, friendly to the environment."

These tasks Gerardo has been able to carry out successfully thanks to the National Association of Manufacturers of Paints and Inks, and the Mexican Institute of Paint and Ink Technicians, organizations in which to be part of the boards of directors.

As for the technical achievements, the Director of Research, Development and Projects of the company Sherwin Williams warns that among the most bombastic are the "Development of coatings resistant to abrasion, wear, weathering, and flame retardants through the use of nanoparticles".

Among the businessmen, and referring expressly to the achievements obtained in the company in which he currently works, Gurrola emphasizes that the "adaptation, adaptation, and improvement of technology transferred from our headquarters, achieving import substitution and great savings, vital for these times of recession, have been of great importance, to such an extent that the corporate gave us an important recognition for the project".

Finally, Gerardo Gurrola emphasizes that the key to success in business matters in this industry is to deliver quality at a fair price, be ethical when doing business, not lie about the capacity of the products, and, above all, give face when difficulties arise.

BOX
Career in the industry
Gerardo Gurrola relates that his connection to industry occurred while he was studying the sixth semester of his university degree, more precisely at the time he was doing social service in his country. These first steps were made in Hoechst Chemistry, which manufactured emulsion resins and organic pigments.

"After covering the time of social service, I was offered to continue working as a part-shift intern, in charge of quality control and also the development of emulsified resins and dispersed pigments, the following year one of the clients I served (Sylpyl Liquid Plastics, a manufacturer of specialized coatings) offered me to work with them as a research chemist for protective coatings, Gurrola recalls. Later he was promoted to the department of cost engineering, where he was in charge of calculating the unit values of corrosion protection works.

Gurrola also worked as a Sales Manager at Productos Rivial and ventured into a small company in the United States called Global Coatings in which he was involved in the design of the plant.

For 13 years he has worked with Sherwin Williams S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of The Sherwin Williams Co., in this company he has held several positions: technical salesman, corrosion engineer, sales manager, project manager and the last three years as Director of Research, Development and Projects, in his charge are the Quality Control laboratories, Research and Development of the plants in Mexico City and Monterrey, likewise, any improvement or modification that is made in the plants.