You Don’t Want to Miss This

The 2011 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International includes more new products, exhibits, more learning, more networking, and a blockbuster show at the Saturday Evening Jam
You Don’t Want to Miss This

Eighty percent of attendees surveyed at the last Pumper & Cleaner Expo said they would come back in 2011.

That says a lot about the 2010 show, and the 31st Annual Expo March 2-5 in Louisville promises to be even bigger and better. More than 500 exhibitors are expected. There will be a record number of educational seminars. The new-product display space will double. A special Saturday morning Roundtable pancake breakfast will give industry professionals a chance to network and discuss key issues and concerns.

And, to top it all off, the annual Saturday Evening Jam features Dierks Bentley, nominee for 2010 Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (for Up on the Ridge).

“In every respect we continue to make the Expo a bigger and better event for our attendees and exhibitors,” says Julie Gensler, Expo coordinator for show sponsor COLE Publishing. “We want professionals in our industry to get more for their investment – in business value and pure enjoyment – every time they attend.”

More products and technologies

Tools and equipment remain a key Expo attraction: some 79 percent of 2010 visitors said that new products and technologies were their main reason for attending.

Interest from exhibitors for 2011 is running high. After the 2010 Expo, 85 percent of the 492 exhibitors already said they were planning to be back. Since then, a number of new companies have expressed interest in floor space. The total number of exhibits will most likely exceed 500.

In addition, the popular new-product display, which included 16 companies last year, is moving to larger quarters, and more than 30 exhibits are expected. In these unmanned displays, open throughout the exhibit hours, visitors can examine the products, watch loop videos, and scan their badges to request more information.

More skills and knowledge

The ever-expanding education lineup includes 85 seminars spread across three days. The Education Day program, on Wednesday, March 2, includes tracks of seminars presented by:

• Leaders Resource Network

• Southern Section Collection Systems Committee

• National Association of Sewer Service Companies

• National Environmental Health Association

• National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association

• WaterJet Technology Association

• Portable Sanitation Association International

• Safety Management Systems

• National Association of Wastewater Transporters

Another track will feature motivational speaker and business coach Scott Hunter, speaking on leadership and “Creating an Outrageously Successful Organization.”

The Thursday and Friday morning programs (March 3 and 4) include six seminars in Spanish to serve the growing number of Expo visitors from Mexico, Central America, and South America. All day Thursday, Jim Anderson and Dave Gustafson of the University of Minnesota onsite program will present an installer seminar.

Many seminars qualify for state-approved continuing education credits.

Another way to network

The show hall, dining area, lobby, shuttle buses, and Louisville nightspots remain as venues for networking, along with the COLE Pub outside the show hall. But this year there’s a new opportunity. A Roundtable Discussion and Pancake Breakfast runs from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Here, in a forum moderated by COLE Publishing staff, attendees will share ideas on industry “hot topics.”

“We’re still developing the list of topics,” says Gensler. “Attendees who want to suggest a topic may send me an e-mail to julieg@colepublishing.com. We will seriously consider all ideas and will choose the topics of greatest interest to our industry members.”

The breakfast price is $10 and includes fresh fruit salad, buttermilk and blueberry pancakes, link sausage, maple syrup and butter, orange juice and coffee.

Good times for all

As always, the Expo offers lots of enjoyment. The Roe-D-Hoe, sponsored by the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, will be back after a successful first year. More than a spectator event, it lets equipment operators practice their skills in a series of timed events requiring a combination of speed, precision and finesse.

The annual Thursday evening Industry Appreciation Party once again offers 25-cent tap beers.

Dierks Bentley, headliner for the Saturday Evening Jam, is the highest-profile act ever to appear at the Expo. Just reaching the height of popularity, he has been a big draw at his own concerts and at country music festivals around the country. Find out more about him at www.dierksbentley.com.

The concert will be held in Freedom Hall, connected directly to the Kentucky Exposition Center, so that attendees can walk to the show while staying indoors. Twenty-five-cent tap beers will be served before the concert.

“Visitors to the 2011 Expo are in for a treat,” says Bob Kendall, owner of COLE Publishing. “Each year we try to make the Expo the most rewarding and most fun few days in our attendees’ business year. We look forward to seeing old friends again and to meeting many new business owners and municipal managers who want to sharpen their skills and learn better ways to serve their customers.”



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