National Association of Colleges and Employers

What does NACE mean?

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is a standards developer recognized worldwide as the leading authority on corrosion control solutions. It is charged with creating and providing corrosion prevention and control standards used by industries where corrosion is a major concern.

NACE, headquartered in Houston, Texas, was founded in 1943 as the National Association of Corrosion Engineers. The organization serves nearly 30,000 members from 116 countries. In 2020, NACE and the Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) announced a merger agreement.

NACE International's standards are written and approved by industry professionals, professors, government officials and experts from regulatory and administrative agencies. The standards are divided into the following three areas..

Test methods are tests related to corrosion prevention and control.
When corrosion is a factor, standard practices are methods for selection, design, installation or use of a material or system.
Material requirements are standards that define required material properties when corrosion is a factor in material selection, application and maintenance.

NACE's main activities include cathodic protection, industrial coatings and material selection for specific chemical resistance. Standing committees review and update the standards every five years.

The organization offers technical certification and training programs, conferences, industry standards, reports, publications, technical journals, government relations activities and much more.

NACE is a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).