PRINTING United Alliance is grateful to serve its members who make such significant impacts on the printing industry. Through our Member Spotlights, we continue to recognize our members, and help our community get to know their peers better, both professionally and personally. The following is a transcribed interview from PRINTING United Alliance 2023 with Alliance member Patrick Salonius, business development manager at Bodaq Finishes LLC.
Can you tell me a little bit about your company?
So, what we have is an architectural film- it is a product that is self-adhesive, and it is used for different applications within interior situations. The big headline application is very often to mimic the very expensive materials that you wouldn’t want to invest in heavily in the case of an interior job, things like marble, teak, quartz.
What’s been your favorite project you’ve worked on so far?
Absolutely, I think the most interesting one was, we’ve worked with select IKEA food courts and at the checkout at IKEA. What really makes it interesting is the best used case where our product really shines. Those are famously high traffic, high impact, rough environments for any material, and the fact that our product stands up so well over the course of many years is a testament to the strength of the product itself.
I know this is your first trade show in a while, what do you think so far?
So far, it’s been great! For all the folks listening out there, funny story— UPS lost almost all our marketing material, all our booth, so for a while here it was kind of quiet. But the time that we’ve had has been excellent. We’ve been able to connect with lots of folks, find great uses for our products, really connect with a lot of potential partners, so it’s been a very valuable show for us.
Was there any technology or a booth in particular that stood out so far?
There are so many excellent printing companies out there. Just in terms of seeing different applications— even for us we’re discovering new materials. So, I wouldn’t say one in particular, since there’s so many that have opened our eyes up to not just applications for our solutions, but just a better scope of what’s going on in the industry.
What do you think about the size of this place?
The size of this place is overwhelming. I think everyone’s getting lost at least a little bit, which has its benefits— you’re kind of checking out different areas, unintentionally finding new products that you sort of stumbled into. This is a huge trade show floor.
Why did Bodaq Finishes LLC decide to join the Alliance and what do you think you’ve utilized so far throughout your membership?
For us as a member of the organization, what’s interesting is that there’s so many different avenues for our particular solution and product within the printing industry. It’s a lot of partnership opportunities, there are a lot of folks that are experienced with vinyl installation and for them it’s a real upsell. There’s a lot of opportunities for our products with the folks who come to this particular trade show and your different events. We’re very happy with the membership as it allows us to connect with those folks.
Have you been able to utilize any of our iLEARNING+ courses so far?
I believe we have been doing some of the courses on the side. Some of our folks back at head office have looked at that as a way of expanding their industry knowledge.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I hope everyone has had at least as great a trade show as we’ve had!
For more information on Bodaq Finishes LLC, visit their website at https://bodaq.com/.