Bessemer, AL — Oct. 24, 2011 — The Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings has named David Boyd of Vulcan Painters one of 24 thought leaders worldwide that have advanced the technology of protective and marine coatings in the past decade.

The top thinkers' awards are called Clive Hare Honors, and named for the JPCL columnist of the 1980s and 1990s. His collected works were organized into two books that have remained "Bibles of the industry," according to the magazine. The award winners, starting with Hare himself, will be profiled in a special issue of JPCL in the summer of 2012.

Boyd was cited by JPCL founder Harold Hower as "an influential member of SSPC's (The Society for Protective Coatings) Industrial Painting Committee, dedicated to integrating good health, safety and environmental practices with strong technical skills." Other winners received the award for their roles in developing industry standards; for creating print and online materials and courses especially suited for contractors and inspectors; and for research and testing in a variety of topics--waterjetting, surface preparation and edge-retentive coatings; coatings performance in aggressive environments; concrete repair and coating materials; and for developing innovative coatings to control corrosion.

Boyd has long been a champion of training for industrial painters and wrote and produced a training program that was used as a model for the national Finishing Trades Institute's industrial painter training. The program is taught in the District Council 77 five-state area, to train journeymen painters of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT). Boyd is co-chair of the IUPAT District Council 77 Training Fund, and was a member of the committee that established SSPC's Painting Contractor Certification Program in 1986. Vulcan Painters now holds more PCCP certifications than any company in the U.S.

He participated in SSPC's "Workforce Summit" as a member of its Education Program Advisory Committee and was a participant in SSPC's Strategic Planning Survey. He was awarded SSPC's Education Achievement Award in 2006. In 2010 he received the Society's John B. Keane Award, acknowledging outstanding leadership and significant contribution to the protective coatings industry and to SSPC.

"The designation 'Top Thinkers' is reserved for experts who have advanced the protective and marine coatings industry by their words, actions or both during the past decade," said Hower, who is also CEO of Technology Publishing Co. Clive Hare's "encyclopedic knowledge and vast understanding of coatings chemistry" make him the very model of a Top Thinker, Hower said.

JPCL's Top Thinkers were selected through a multi-layered process that began with nominations from the publisher and editors of JPCL, industry experts who work closely with JPCL, and SSPC. From the original list of 68 nominees, the committee selected 24 individuals representing most of the different markets and disciplines that JPCL serves.