In this speaker interview, we caught up with Doug Vermillion, Director at Eye Applied Optix, who will be joining us at Polymer Testing World Expo in Cleveland.

Doug is the director of the Applied Optix division of EYE Lighting International of North America which is a manufacturer a huge variety of specialty light sources.  Applied Optix produces controlled light spectrum systems for scientific and industrial applications that range from polymer testing to solar panel production. 

Doug's primary responsibility is to grow the overall business, but he's also extremely involved with our weathering chamber business. It’s exciting to be involved with the introduction of a new, game changing technology like the Super UV tester since it has such a significant impact on reducing polymer screening test time. It’s very rewarding to watch our customers try, and then realize the benefit from, the Super UV technology.

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What are the biggest challenges facing the market today and how can this be overcome?

It seems as if competition is greater, that budgets are tighter, and that our customers need to work more efficiently than ever before.  We can help our customers justify the purchase of the Super UV chamber because it’s an efficiency enhancer.  The Super UV can produce screening test results in a fraction of the time required by traditional weathering chambers.  This means significantly reduced time to market for new products, faster analysis of product performance, better understanding of potential warranty cost, technical feasibility of ideas, and many other product development criteria that have a major impact on a company’s bottom line.  The financial benefits to a company from owning a Super UV chamber far outweigh the cost of the chamber.

 

In your opinion, what do you consider to be the greatest development in your industry in the last decade?

For laboratory weathering testing it has to be the introduction of metal halide lamp weathering chambers into North America and Europe.  Users of these chambers are realizing all of the competitive and other business benefits from reduced screening test time. 

 

How do you see the sector developing in the next five to ten years?

We believe that more customers will be adopting the metal halide weathering chamber for screening tests.  There are already Japanese companies with proprietary testing standards that use this technology.  We know that standards entities like the ASTM and IEC are developing metal halide weathering standards and practices so there’s no doubt about growing acceptance and usage.

 

You will be speaking at AMI’s plastics industry expos in Cleveland in November, could you give us a preview on what you will be talking about?

I’ll be presenting on an introduction to metal halide weathering as breakthrough efficiency tool for polymer screening tests.  We’ll review how the technology is similar to and different from traditional weathering chambers, the potential impact it can have on the product development process, and will provide an overview of how to convert and accelerate a traditional screening test by using the Super UV.

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Doug Vermillion will be speaking at the Polymer Testing World Expo North America conference.