It is hard to believe how fast time flies, because it has been more than a year now since The Elcometer Building at the NACE International Training Center was officially established.

In a previous entry, I had shared a couple of pictures of the Elcometer Building dedication ceremony held in Houston, Texas. The 15,000 square foot $2.4 million training center facility is the first freestanding training center in North America dedicated exclusively to advancing corrosion education.

Corrosion is an ongoing and costly threat to assets in the energy, transportation, water, defense, marine and shipbuilding industries. According to the 2008 NACE International Corrosion Career Survey, one of the biggest challenges facing the industry is the lack of professionals entering the field. In the next five to ten years, it is expected that a significant percentage of the corrosion industry's workforce will be retiring, creating an unprecedented demand for skilled corrosion professionals. This training center will help NACE International accommodate more than 3,000 students annually in the United States as they earn world-recognized certifications in coatings, cathodic protection, and other professional endeavors related to corrosion identification, prevention and mitigation.

In addition, NACE International firmly commits to its stated mission: to protect people, assets, and the environment from the effects of corrosion. It is a mission and vision that Elcometer shares.

Here is another photo of this terrific facility for those involved with corrosion engineering: