Led by the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), the AMPP Annual Conference + Expo takes place in March or April of each year. In 2024, the association’s flagship event took place from March 3-7 in New Orleans, La., at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
With approximately 6,000 attendees and nearly 400 exhibiting companies, the 2024 show was a successful event by all measures. Numerous events were held throughout the week to recognize and advance the careers of coatings professionals.
One of those marquee events was the exclusive announcement ceremony for CoatingsPro Magazine’s 2024 Contractor Awards Program. As AMPP’s publication for contractors working on high-performance coating projects in the field, CoatingsPro officially announced and recognized this year’s winners in a March 4 ceremony from the annual conference.
Awards were presented by Kristin Leonard, chair of the AMPP Global Center Board of Directors and energy market director for North America at Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine.
“The goal of the awards program, which began in 2017, is to recognize the hard work of deserving contractors working in the high-performance coatings industry,” Leonard said during her remarks from the show. “They acknowledge winning crews and individuals working on commercial and industrial concrete, commercial roofing, industrial steel, and specialty projects, as well as specific winners for safety and MVP awards.”
The 2024 awards presentation took place before the Exhibit Hall’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. A Facebook live stream offered a chance to watch the presentation virtually, as well, and an archived version of that video is available beneath this article.
Once announced, professionals involved in completing each coatings installation from the winning contracting company were invited to come up to the stage, accept their trophy or plaque, and pose for a photo with AMPP’s official photographer. This year, six contractors accepted their plaques and/or trophies live on stage.
As presented from AMPP’s 2024 show, the new class of winners are:
Commercial Concrete
• 1st Place: Alpine Painting & Sandblasting Contractors for “Interior Manufacturing Facility Painting at Firmenich Fragrance Company” project
• 2nd Place: Bay to Bay Stone Restoration for “Sea Air Towers Restoration Project”
• 3rd Place: Raymond's Painting Company for “Torii Gate” project
Commercial Roof
• 1st Place: Alpine Painting & Sandblasting Contractors for “Stamford Landing” project
• 2nd Place: Draper Construction for “Life Church OKC” project
• 3rd Place: Draper Construction for “Cloud County Community College” project
Industrial Concrete
• 1st Place: Alpine Painting & Sandblasting Contractors for “Wonder Meats Flooring” project
• 2nd Place: Luckinbill Construction, LLC for “Claremore Lake Spillway Rehab” project
• 3rd Place: C.A. Reed Associates, Inc. for “Seidel Group USA” project
Industrial Steel
• 1st Place: Blastech Enterprises, Inc. for “Yellow Line Tunnel and Bridge Rehabilitation”
• 2nd Place: Alpine Painting & Sandblasting Contractors for “Alstom Monorail Grit Coating” project
• 3rd Place: The BASE Group for “Hard Rock Stadium Support Towers” project
Specialty Project
• Scholar Painting and Restoration for “Flying Horses Carousel” project
Work It Safe
• Blastech Enterprises, Inc. for “Yellow Line Tunnel and Bridge Rehabilitation” project
Contractor/Crew Most Valuable Player (MVP)
• Peterson De-Olivera, Saulnier Epoxy Floors
This year’s CoatingsPro Editorial Advisory Group, along with a safety expert, participated in the judging process to determine which contractor submissions exemplified the best high-performance coatings projects. Judging was conducted in two rounds, with each project and crew scored for safety, savings, and process. Additional points were given, as warranted, for going above and beyond.
“We’re thrilled to congratulate all the deserving contractors and crews,” said Stephanie Chizik, Editor-in-Chief of CoatingsPro Magazine. “It’s a highlight of this and every year that we get the chance to acknowledge the challenges overcome, savings accomplished, and relationships built by the people working in this industry.”
Specific details about the 2024 winners were made available on posters throughout AMPP’s Exhibit Hall, and in-depth information regarding these winning projects will also be shared in the May 2024 print issue of CoatingsPro Magazine. Check out that issue for more!
Additional information about the Contractor Awards program can be found at www.coatingspromag.com/contractor-awards.