Announcement Date: 10/3/2024

Progressive Surface, Inc (of Grand Rapids, MI) and Purdue University’s School of Materials Engineering (MSE) have entered into an agreement for Progressive Surface (Progressive) to install pilot scale robotic shot peening equipment into Purdue University’s Materials & Manufacturing Research Laboratory (MMRL).  The equipment is slated be operational by mid-2025 and demonstrated during the tri-annual International Conference on Shot Peening (ICSP15) which is being hosted by MSE in September 2025 in conjunction with MSE’s Center for Surface Engineering & Enhancement (CSEE).

Professor Dave Bahr (Head of MSE, Chairman of ICSP15 & Executive Director of CSEE) said “There are a number of outstanding companies in the greater than $5 billion per year global shot peening industry.  While we’re excited to be partnering with many of them in CSEE and ICSP15, we’re particularly grateful to be engaged with Progressive to supply this equipment.  This peener, when coupled with our existing peening test stand, will enable our continued graduate & undergraduate research into shot peening as well as provide our industrial collaborators the unique setting in MMRL to gain insights into a broad array of world class manufacturing processes”.

Jim Whalen, President of Progressive, commented “We’re pleased to be expanding our partnership with MSE by providing this equipment.  Our relationship has significantly grown during the last several years as has been made evident by our participation in CSEE and multiple shot peening focused projects that have effectively blended relevant industrial surface engineering topics with first-class academic principals”.