SSPC BOARD MEETING AND ANNUAL CONFERENCE UPDATE 

February 7, 2020

On Saturday, February 1, prior to the start of SSPC’s Coatings+ conference, SSPC’s Board of Governors reviewed the details of a framework for a combined organization developed by the SSPC-NACE Task Group. After four hours of dialogue and detailed questions from the members of the board, the group voted unanimously in favor of the resolution and bringing the combination of  SSPC and NACE, including creation of NewOrg (actual name TBD) and NewOrg Institute (actual name also TBD), to a member vote.

Following the board meeting, SSPC hosted three Town Hall meetings to provide members with information about the proposal, solicit feedback, and answer questions. SSPC Vice President Sam Scaturro, SSPC Executive Director Bill Worms, NACE President Terry Greenfield and NACE CEO Bob Chalker, and other members of the SSPC-NACE task group, were present to answer questions and provide additional perspective.

Some highlights of the presentations include:

• The combination of SSPC and NACE would result in two new organizations: “NewOrg”, a 501(c)(6), and “NewOrg Institute”, a 501(c)(3), each serving specific functions and satisfying certain tax exemption requirements.
• The operations and staff of SSPC, NACE, and the NACE Institute would be absorbed into the two new entities
• All existing members of both SSPC and NACE would become members of NewOrg and all members of NewOrg would have access to the programs and resources of both
• NewOrg would be the sole member of NewOrg Institute
• Each new entity will have its own board and governance
• Current members of the SSPC and NACE boards would be divided between the new boards so that there is balanced representation
• Three Advisory Councils would be created to provide strategic input: Contractors, Owners, and Global Affairs
• Overlapping programs that have been identified, such as PCI/CIP, QP/NIICAP, CAS/CCA and PCS/PCS will be analyzed by special member-led task forces to determine the path forward for each.
• If the NACE board also approves moving forward, a member vote for both NACE and SSPC would take place April 3 – 17.

The speakers clarified that determining how overlapping programs evolve will be led by subject matter experts among the membership, not the NACE-SSPC Task Group working on the organizational framework. The goal is to have those who are most knowledgeable and experienced with the programs be the ones to create the path.

Questions from the audience targeted a range of topics including:

• Contractors maintaining their voice within NewOrg
• Representation of smaller demographics such as consultants, material suppliers and equipment suppliers
• Details regarding how overlapping programs will be affected
• Membership details and benefits
• Selection of board members
• The voting process
• The timeline for completion if the combination is approved

Each town hall meeting was recorded and will be made available online to members following the conference. The February 5th Town Hall was broadcast live by SSPC on Facebook and can be found on SSPC’s Facebook page, and a PaintSquare article summarizing the town halls can be viewed PaintSquare.com.

The task group will post a list of frequently asked questions and answers on both the SSPC and NACE websites in the coming weeks and share them in email update #9 on March 6.

Following is a timeline of upcoming discussion-related milestones.

• February 24 – NACE Board of Directors holds update meeting
• March 14 – NACE Board of Directors Meeting
• March 16, 17, 18, 19 – NACE hosts Town Hall meetings at CORROSION 2020 in Houston
• April 3 – 17 – Proposed votes of SSPC and NACE members

If you have any questions please contact [email protected] or submit comments using the SSPC-NACE Feedback form.

Please check your inbox next Friday, February 14 for Update #6 – Next Steps in the Discussion Process.