The Director for Applied Optix, Doug Vermillion, is the next speaker interview.

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. His primary responsibility is to grow the overall business, but he is also extremely involved with the weathering chamber business. He said 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. Also, it’s very rewarding to watch their customers try, and then realize the benefit from, the Super UV technology.

How do you see the industry developing and growing in the next three-to-five years?

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment?

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 view, what has been the most exciting development in the industry in the last couple of years? And why?

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.

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

I’ll be presenting on the use of 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.

Doug will be presenting a paper on 'Exploring the super UV metal halide weathering chamber to rapidly accelerate the material screening test process' at the Polymer Testing World Expo Conference 2022.