A Tremendous Experience

2012 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo highlights the industry’s best

The 2012 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo is over, but the lessons and insight gained in Indy will be far-reaching. The educational seminars, equipment demonstrations and conversations with other contractors and manufacturers were all part of the Expo experience, and that’s experience you’ll be able to take forward and use to improve your business.

Watching the exhibit floor come together on Sunday and Monday was pretty amazing. The constant swirl of trucks, crates and equipment being ferried back and forth on the show floor gave the Indiana Convention Center a sort of circus-like atmosphere, except there were forklifts instead of bumper cars and the smell of diesel exhaust hung in the air rather than the wafting scents of cotton candy and corn dogs. Attendees never get to see that part of the show, but I think you’d appreciate the perspective it provides on the volume of work and level of coordination it takes to pull off an event like this.

Education Day was also impressive. There was a big slate of classes, and some were so full people were listening in the hallways outside the doors. Some of the most interesting conversations I overheard throughout the whole Expo were on Education Day. The seminars themselves presented timely, valuable information for contractors, but some of the conversations after the seminars – between attendees and in some cases, instructors – were just as valuable. There were practical questions about real problems, and direct answers that could make a difference on the next job. There were also stories of experiences echoing those presented by the instructors, a sharing of common ground that’s always good for perspective.

There were many other opportunities to learn at the Expo as well, from product demos on the exhibit floor to Thursday morning’s roundtable discussions. You could see pipe bursting, CIPP lining, electronic pipe scanning and jetting nozzles in action, or take part in discussions on measuring sewer flow, lateral cleaning or hydroexcavation.

Over 500 exhibitors and thousands of contractors from dozens of countries were all in Indy, and that also led to opportunities to learn about the projects and problems contractors are tackling in other regions. With so many industry people all together, the networking opportunities were almost limitless.

The Expo was a great experience for me, and I hope it was for you as well. And if you weren’t fortunate enough to be able to attend, at least the new product roundup in this month’s issue will give you a look at some of the newest and best products that were on display. Enjoy the coverage, and put the 2013 Expo (Feb. 25-28) on your calendar for next year.



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