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Dear Friends,
“Everything’s bigger in Texas.” It was hard to dispute that Lone Star State slogan at Noria’s 2005 Lubrication Excellence & Reliability World conference and exhibition in San Antonio.
Attendance at this year’s conference, held April 25-29 at the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, was indeed BIG. It is amazing that we surpassed the magical 1,000 mark in attendance. It is truly astonishing, though, that the final attendance eclipsed 1,200. That’s a 50-percent increase over our previous record – 800 at the 2004 conference in Nashville, Tenn.
What was behind this incredible surge in attendance?
Maybe it was the educational content. We orchestrated a jam-packed lineup of keynote speeches (featuring Alcoa’s Vincent Adorno, Cargill’s Ron Christenson and Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Boeheim), workshops, breakout sessions, society meetings, client meetings and certification testing.
Maybe it was the information on services and solutions. More than 140 suppliers had booths during the exhibition portion of the event.
Maybe it was the beauty, history and cuisine of San Antonio. Attendees were just a short walk from the Alamo, the Riverwalk restaurant/nightlife district and the La Villita artisan village.
What keeps me coming back for more each year is the village-like community that is present at our conference. During the week, the breakout session rooms, convention center corridors and exhibition hall floor bring together the richest fraternity of people in our industry. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reacquaint with old friends and get to know new ones. There’s an enormous sharing of ideas, best practices and business cards.
The 2005 Lubrication Excellence & Reliability World event was one for the record books, and there are plenty of people to thank.
First, thanks go out to all of those who attended our event. Your feedback and thirst for knowledge keep us focused on delivering the best possible conference year after year.
Second, thanks go to our 2005 sponsors and exhibitors. The Lubrication Excellence sponsors were ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Shell, Des-Case and ISOPur Fluid Technologies. The Reliability World sponsors were Allied Reliability Group, IDCON and Maintenance World.
Third, special thanks go to the Noria team, whose hard work and high standards lead to that finished product. Noria staffers don’t just see the vision, but live the vision, day-in and day-out.
I welcome your own personal comments and stories about the 2005 conference and look forward to seeing you at next year’s event – May 16-18, 2006 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
We’re seeking to surpass 2,000 attendees in 2006. Come and make history with us!
Jim Fitch
jfitch@noria.com
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