Inside the AI Shift in Coatings R&D
The 2025 Coatings Trends & Technologies Summit keynote panel brought together five industry leaders to discuss real-world AI applications and what comes next for coatings R&D.
Credit: Robert Levy Photography
By Paint & Coatings Industry Magazine
AI has quickly moved from theoretical discussion to practical deployment in labs, production environments, and supply chains across the coatings industry. At the 2025 Coatings Trends and Technologies Summit, five leaders (pictured below) from across the chemicals and materials ecosystem shared how AI is already accelerating innovation, driving faster formulation cycles, strengthening data foundations, transforming sourcing visibility, and enabling new approaches to scale-up and regulatory readiness. The full feature article captures the most compelling insights from this in-depth discussion.
Ken Kisner
COO, Albert Invent
“Your most valuable data is the data you didn’t collect today.”
Bryan Haltom
Business Manager, Industrial Colorants and Additives, Dystar
“Within four months, we went from dead ends to having some of the best [defoamer] candidates I’ve ever seen.”
Dheeve Arulmani
Co-Founder & COO, Valdera
“If you wait for the perfect dataset, you’ll be a laggard. Progress beats perfection every time.”
Alex Gardiner
Software Solutions Sales Executive, Proleit by Schneider Electric
“AI freed our technicians from repetitive work. It increased productivity and improved retention.”
Paul Snowwhite
CEO, Applied Molecules
“AI doesn’t replace chemists. It makes the good ones even more essential.”
Ken Kinser
COO, Albert Invent
“Your most valuable data is the data you didn’t collect today.”
