Blastrac Global, which has experienced much success with its Surface Preparation Academic Resource Center classes for the past two years, announced that it will offer these classes again in 2007 on Jan. 9-11, Feb. 20-22 and March 27-29.

SPARC is a surface preparation training program taught by factory experts skilled in Blastrac equipment and Sawtec hand tools. With a class size of 15 students each month, SPARC is designed to be beneficial for anyone in the surface preparation industry, from beginners to highly experienced technicians.

“The best thing about SPARC is that it teaches participants what to use when and how to use the products, as well as how to lower operating costs by being more efficient,” said Jonn Rippman, Blastrac national training manager. “SPARC takes the mystery out of the surface preparation process.”

Participants arrive at the Blastrac factory in Oklahoma City for the three-day class on Monday night and leave Thursday evening. SPARC is taught by Rippman; Scott Coffey, product manager of scarifying and scraping; Matt Shorrock, product manager of wheel blast equipment; and Jason Root, product manager of Diamond Tooling and Sawtec.

Ed Gruetzner, who owns Epoxy Floors of Westchester in Thornwood, N.Y., started his business six months before attending SPARC. Gruetzner said the class answered many of the questions he had concerning shotblasting, and he has now extended his company’s services to include concrete polishing because he learned so much about the process during SPARC.

“I thought the class was phenomenal,” said Gruetzner. “I went into the class with so many questions, but I didn’t even have to ask them because the instructors were so thorough. I came away from SPARC with more information than I ever imagined.”

SPARC is a comprehensive training program on popular surface preparation methods and equipment. The course is designed for contractors, coatings specifiers, facility owners, architects, engineers and others involved with application, specification or use of coatings. The three-day program includes discussion of common surface preparation methods such as shotblasting, diamond grinding, scraping, milling and scarification. Participants are taught when to use different surface preparation techniques, based on job site characteristics, specified coatings, desired results and costs. The instructor also includes discussion of industry standards and testing methods. Students’ training is focused primarily on intensive hands-on instruction, including training in the start-up, use and maintenance of equipment.

For more information about the SPARC training program, call 800-256-3440 or visit www.blastrac.com.