Talkin’ the Talk

Glue-U epoxy training sessions at the IBEX

By Julie Jezowski

Here at GBI, we’re not just your average epoxy “retailer.” We are the leading provider of quality epoxy products and services. Quality epoxy as in; we dream a big, sticky, epoxy dream, research it, develop it and produce it.  Service as in; packed within our 20,000(ish) square foot walls is a wealth of knowledge and experience so vast that it has enabled us to educate hundreds of people worldwide on the features and benefits of West System® epoxy.  Spanning from A to Z….Alaska to Zimbabwe. . Yeah, I know. Alaska. Mind. Blown.

In my job, I wear many hats. So in my walk-in hat closet (eat your heart out Kim K) one of my responsibilities is to coordinate the professional training sessions that we present each year.  A big venue for us is the annual International Boatbuilders Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) where we have been putting on training nearly every year since 2006.  It’s attended by thousands of qualified marine industry professionals and Our West System Fiberglass Repair session (a/k/a Glue U) is typically held one day before the scheduled IBEX exhibition begins.  But that doesn’t stop hundreds of people from all over the world from attending.

Check these stats out

• 3 – Training locations since 2006 (Miami, FL Tampa, FL & Louisville, KY)
• 202 – Total number of satisfied customers we’ve had the pleasure of training
• 28 – US states (AK, AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, VA, WA, WI)
• 4 – Foreign Countries (Canada, Poland, Germany, France)
• 3– Territories (Grand Cayman Islands, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico)

At Glue-U, IBEX style, we cover topics such as basic epoxy repair techniques, composite technology and repair, fairing, gelcoat blister repair, and much, much more.  Plus there’s that delicious box lunch you may have heard so much about.  Aside from the box lunch, another cool benefit of the training is that the professional speakers are just that, professional…the actual members of our technical staff with many years of technical know-how behind them, such as boat building and repair, composite engineering, material testing, and many, many years of combined customer service.   We are very proud and honored to have them all on our team and you must be too…. 202 people and counting can’t be wrong.