Manufacturing plants, engineering firms and distributors convene to share energy and water conservation expertise
Day 1 of the Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference saw the annual event’s highest attendance yet, with a record number of manufacturing plants, distributors and engineering firms. The event started yesterday, October 29th, at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA, and runs until Thursday.
Hands-On Learning, Big Name Speakers
This year saw the debut of the hands-on Hard Hat Compressed Air Maintenance Workshop & Lab, where attendees gained experience controlling energy costs by monitoring flow and optimizing a system attached to a running air compressor.
Conference attendees getting hands-on learning opportunities during the new Hard Hat Compressed Air Maintenance Workshop & Lab.
Compressed Air & Gas Institute representatives from Ingersoll Rand, Kaeser Compressors, Atlas Copco and Gardner Denver led a morning session on case studies in maximizing compressed air efficiency. Cooling Technology representatives from SPX Cooling Tech, L.S. Enterprise, Buckman Chemical and Baltimore Aircool Company delivered presentations on cooling towers and water treatment in industrial plants.
Conference attendees at the Compressed Air & Gas Institute education seminar.
The Opening Session, which was open to all conference and EXPO attendees, was led by Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine Publisher Roderick Smith. Paul Baker, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Jacobs, explained the significance of the ASHRAE 90.1 Commercial Building Energy Code adding a section on compressed air. Alan Edington, Global Energy Director, Gates, provided an inside look at their initiatives to reduce their energy costs associated with their compressed air and chiller/cooling tower systems.
“The most important step in our process is data collection. We spend a significant amount of time collecting data before we engineer the system. Almost 100% of our systems have built-in metering so we know if there's ever an issue or what the data is that we will need to understand how to size replacement machines,” Edington said.
Bustling Booths, Business in Motion
The EXPO hall opened at noon, with booth attendance high during the afternoon. This year’s EXPO included 84 booths. Attendees were able to see the latest equipment from exhibitors including BEKO Technologies, Mikropor, Kaeser Compressors, Hertz Kompressoren, CS Instruments, Alkin Compressors, Unipipe Solutions, Tasman-USA Compressors, Bobcat Company, FS-Curtis/FS-Elliott, and Bauer Compressors. Industry bodies Compressed Air & Gas Institute and Cooling Technology Institute educated attendees on membership benefits and industry developments.
This year’s 6th annual event saw the highest attendance yet and set a record for the most manufacturing plants, distributors and engineering firms in attendance in the event’s history.
Daily EXPO \$1,000 Energy Treasure Hunt Raffle
The conference’s Daily EXPO \$1,000 Energy Treasure Hunt Raffle is designed to reward the people who make Energy Treasure Hunts in manufacturing plants happen. Attendees play by visiting EXPO sponsors and collecting stamps on a raffle card. Today’s winners, announced on the EXPO show floor, included Kobe Harrigan of Goldfin Consulting (\$500), Rick Vogel of Fluor (\$250) and Cort Clark of Atlantic Compressors (\$250).
EXPO guests gathering for the Daily $1,000 Energy Treasure Hunt Raffle.
Manufacturing Plants Set an Attendance Record
This year saw a record number of manufacturers at the conference, with many coming to help plan future plant purchases.
“I think it’s great. Being here with industry leaders and learning best practices – learning how to identify leaks, artificial demand and all sorts of things around your facility – is really beneficial,” said Cale Farnsworth, Project Engineer, West Fraser. “I’d recommend all manufacturing plants attend the show. I’m looking forward to networking with industry leaders. We’re doing upgrades to our facility, so I’m mostly interested in networking experiences here.”
“The Best Practices conference shows a lot of different innovative products,” said Jesse Scott, Facilities Engineer, MAGNA. “I’ve found many energy and sustainability items I will be pursuing to implement in our plant operations.”
Networking Event Ends the Day
The day concluded with a festive happy hour Networking Reception hosted by Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine, Sponsored by Mikropor and BEKO Technologies, in the atrium of the adjoining Renaissance Waverly Atlanta Hotel. The two-and-a-half-hour open bar with a variety of appetizers was open to all attendees. A professional photographer took free headshots.
Attendees enjoying the Networking Reception at the end of Day 1.
Read Day 2 Highlights here: https://www.airbestpractices.com/technology/air-compressors/best-practices-2024-expo-conference-day-2-highlights.
