Galvanizing Technology Committee Meeting

17–18 March 2026 • Hilton Shreveport • Shreveport, LA, USA

►Agenda (PDF)
►Register or contact ldlugopolski@aist.org

Tour of Ternium USA

Hotel Arrangements

Hilton Shreveport
104 Market Street
Shreveport, LA 71101 
Reserve by 2 March for AIST Room Rate of $165 (2 Queens) or $175 (1 King) 

For reservations, book online

AIST technology committee members are asked to print out the latest revised meeting agenda from our website one week prior to this meeting.

Tuesday, 17 March 2026 – At Hilton Shreveport

 Breakfast   7:00 am

1. Chair’s opening remarks    8:00 am  
2. Appoint minute-taker
3. Antitrust guidelines
4. Membership and attendance
5. Review minutes of previous meeting
6. AIST Staff Announcements
7. Main agenda items
   • Finalize AISTech sessions
     • Papers due to AIST (17 February)
     • Author Registration deadline (5 March)
     • Presentation Draft Due into AIST (17 March)
     • Re-emphasize the role of Session Chair and Papers Chair
   • Nominations for committee officers
     • Chair - Dan Drane
     • Vice Chair - Luis Garza
     • Papers Chair - Ana Paula Domingos Cardoso
     • Papers Chair - Dan Baker
     • Young Professional Chair - Dan Topham
     • Digitalization Liaison – Thomas Daum
     • Decarbonization Liaison - Stavros Fountoulakis
   • Study Tour planning 
   • Update from liaisons—Digital Transformation Subcommittee, Decarbonization, Young Professionals 

8. Discussion items – Technical Presentations

 Safety First 

1. Annealing Furnace Safety Interlocks: Instrumentation and Control Upgrades for N₂ Purging and HNx Atmosphere Injection.
   Presenter: Moaid Alosta (Process Engineer), Ternium USA

Ternium Shreveport Introduction and Safety Management Systems

1. Ternium Shreveport Falicity Overview: Line capacities, main equipment, layouts and product fabrication gamma.  
   Presenter: Rodrigo Salazar (Director of Operations), Ternium USA
2. Ternium Safety Management System: An overview of our safety vision, preventive safety, incident investigation methods and effective communication through all our coating facilities worldwide. We will include here a couple of slides with the tour guidelines, evacuation routes, etc.,
   Presenter: Brian Garrett (EHS Safety Manager), Ternium USA

Annealing Furnace Atmosphere Management

1. Technologies to Monitor Furnace Atmosphere Variables Like Hydrogen, Oxygen and Water Dew Point
   Contact: Narge Sparages, Panametrics (narge.sparages@BakerHughes.com)
2. Strategies and New Developments in Annealing Furnace Atmosphere Control and Monitoring
   Contact: Maxime Monnoyer, Fives (maxime.monnoyer@fivesgroup.com)
3. Furnace design considerations for Galvalume lines – John Cockerill Industries
   Contact: Manuel Leonhard ( manuel.leonhard@johncockerill.com)

Coating and/or Premelt Pot Technology & Maintenance Practices

1. Coreless pot technology and maintenance practices
   Contact: Melissa Waffen (mwaffen@ajaxtocco.com)

Coating Knives & Pot Hardware Technologies

1. Coating wiping considerations for automotive vs. non‑automotive lines
   Contact: Jean‑Paul Fontaine (jp.fontaine@foen-gmbh.de)
2. Knife & blowing‑box upgrade project at Ternium; features of Clecim coating knife technology            Contact: Benjamin Grenier, Clecim (benjamin.grenier@clecim.com)
3. Coating weight control technologies for Galvalume and very light or very heavy coating weights
   Contact: Manuel Leonhard, John Cockerill (manuel.leonhard@johncockerill.com )
4. Pot hardware capabilities for Galvalume lines
   Contact: David Rudge, Hatch (david.rudge@hatch.com )
   
   Next meeting
   • AISTech 2026
     • Date: Wednesday, 6 May 2026
     • Location: Pittsburgh, PA
     • Room #: 330 

Chair conclusion
Adjourn    5:00 pm

Wednesday, 18 March 2026 – Ternium USA

Tour   9:00 am

• Meet at Ternium USA
  • Please wear:
    • Long Sleeves and Pants
    • Closed Toed, Hard Soled Shoes
    • Bring your own Hard Hat and Safety Glasses if possible

 Lunch will be provided by Ternium USA