The AMPP Annual Conference + Expo 2025 (photo gallery) in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, drew approximately 5,600 attendees from the corrosion and coatings industries worldwide.

Attendees came from 59 countries and all 50 U.S. states, along with representatives from Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.

Held by the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), each year’s show represents the largest and most comprehensive event for its industries served, all while offering the chance to reconnect with friends and network with industry peers.

“The 2025 show had an energy that was contagious,” said Greg Muha, AMPP’s Director of Conferences, Exhibits, and Sponsorships. “Monday’s keynote presentation by Mike Massimino set the tone that really made the event lift off.”

“We have received numerous inputs from attendees, presenters, exhibitors, and sponsors that this year has been fruitful for them and worth the investment of their time and resources,” Muha added. “The positive impact our members and customers have on the industries we serve is truly amazing, and my team and I are tremendously grateful for the contributions that help bring this important industry event to life.”

Exhibitors and Sponsors

With features ranging from informative programs and workshops to widespread exhibits and networking, the 2025 show from Nashville’s Music City Center shared updated information and research on materials, corrosion and coating trends, best practices, and new products.

Each year, whether attendees are focused on corrosion, coatings, materials, or seeing new global technologies, they can find everything they need in one place.

With extended hours, the 2025 Expo showcased 370 companies displaying the latest corrosion control and protective coatings technologies across 67,000 net square feet of space.

Networking events included Sunday’s Opening Reception, co-sponsored by AMPP and Carboline, and Monday’s Expo Grand Opening, sponsored by Sherwin-Williams.

In all, the 2025 conference had 45 sponsors. We thank them all for their support!

Honoring Shared History

This year’s conference was the fourth in-person show held by AMPP since the 2021 merger between legacy organizations NACE International and SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings. With that history in mind, the show aims to provide everything attendees valued from the legacy CORROSION and Coatings+ events.

Awards programs at the March 2025 show included AMPP’s Scholarship Awards and EMERGing Leaders Bash (sponsored by BP, Sherwin-Williams, and IUPAT), along with the association’s Honoree Night—which celebrates the association’s annual Service, Technical, and Project Awards winners for that year. This year’s Honoree Night was celebrated at an iconic location, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Meanwhile, the AMPP Publications team added to the honors with its 2025 Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards from Materials Performance (MP) magazine and the Student Poster Awards, sponsored by CORROSION journal.

Conference Program Highlights

Massimino, a former NASA astronaut and best-selling author, delivered AMPP’s inspiring keynote while leaving attendees energized and motivated.

He advised trusting three things to stay mission-ready: your gear/equipment, your training, and your team. Drawing from his space experiences, Massimino shared powerful stories about teamwork and resilience, all while reminding us that we succeed or fail together.

Elsewhere, in the annual Whitney Award lecture, Dr. Narasi Sridhar urged AMPP attendees to think about predicting leading indicators and not simply waiting for failures to occur. He shared details regarding the evolution of some of the key models used to predict failure, as well as some of the gaps they face.

Panel discussions included themes such as workforce development, pipeline safety, corrosion in the military, newfound opportunities in shipbuilding, and a specialized “Women of AMPP” program. Sister societies came together to explore collaboration opportunities.

Finally, the 2025 show also shined a spotlight on the next generation of leaders — both with the Scholarship Awards and EMERGing Leaders Bash, as well as on-site career coaching and mentoring opportunities.

Future AMPP Events

The 2026 Annual Conference + Expo will be held March 15-19 in Houston, Texas, USA, which is the location of AMPP’s global headquarters. With development plans already well underway, prospective attendees should make plans now to attend the world’s largest and most valuable event for the materials protection and performance industry.

As for the remainder of 2025, a wide range of regional and niche AMPP events are currently on the schedule. Muha and his team are ready to execute those plans.

“We’ll now turn the page and look forward to executing the Canada Area Conference that kicks off on April 21, 2025, in Saskatoon,” Muha said. “That will be followed by our LatinCORR and Panamerican Corrosion Conference in Panama in July; the Environmental Degradation Conference in Long Beach, California, in August; and our Central Area Conference in September in Odessa, Texas.”

“We are also already planning for our 2026 annual show in Houston. The call for content is underway, and the Exhibit Hall is already 60% sold out with 258 exhibitors planning to join.  We are thankful for all the support from everyone who helps makes these events a reality.”

Source: AMPP Annual Conference + Expo, ace.ampp.org.

Editor’s note: For in-depth coverage of many of these events, visit our Show Daily web page for the 2025 AMPP conference.

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