Run Like the Wind - Windpower Conference Heads to Chicago

Wind is the talk of the town. It has become especially relevant to the power transmission community where bearings, gears, couplings, motors and gearboxes are providing the equipment for this thriving alternative energy industry. It comes as no surprise that the Windpower 2009 Conference and Exhibition, arriving in Chicago from May 4–7, will be the largest gathering of wind energy professionals and technologies to date. Exhibitors like Advanced Motors & Drives, Brad Foote Gear Works, Comer Industries, Hansen Transmission, KTR Corp., Moventas, NTN Bearing Corp., SKF, Timken and WEG are just a few of the companies that will be on hand to support the wind energy market. Due to the enormous growth of both exhibitors and attendees, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) had no choice but to move the conference from Minneapolis to Chicago in 2009. There was simply not enough room to support the growing number of interested participants, a nice problem to have according to many of the exhibitors PTE spoke with.

“Wind energy is the greatest growth industry in the world, specifi cally in the United States,” says Todd Franiuk, marketing specialist at NTN Bearing Corporation of America. “To not be a part of this exhibition would be a mistake.” Exhibiting at booth #3121, NTN is featuring main shaft,gearbox and generator application bearing displays. Franiuk says NTN benefi ts from Windpower 2009 by receiving greater name recognition and the ability to meet with potential customers/clients they may not have had the chance to in the past. “With so many new companies fi nding their niche in this market, the possibilities of fi nding new ways to use our product to serve this market continue to grow. Exhibiting at Windpower 2009 is a good way to meet and understand some of this potential.” Franiuk says. At booth #5138, Comer Industries will display its pitch and yaw drives. The company’s range of planetary drives for nacelles rotation and orientation as well as blade positioning is suitable for wind generators up to 5 MW and more. Arlin Perry, president at Comer, says the company is currently supplying products to many of the market leaders in the industry. Comer has exhibited at the Windpower Conference in the past and fi nds it an excellent opportunity to increase the awareness of its product lines. “We see an increased focus in the United States with tremendous growth potential as the U.S. government embraces alternative energy as part of a new energy policy,” Perry says. Advanced Motors and Drives (AMD) will promote its design, technology and manufacturing resources at booth #1868 with a product line that includes yaw motors, pitch motors and cable hoists. “Windpower 2009 provides a cost-effective opportunity to showcase our capabilities,” says Mike Arnold, sales engineer at AMD. “At a time when some events show diminishing returns for our investment, the growth and excitement surrounding Windpower 2009 is refreshing.” AMD, along with its sister operating companies within Kinetek, will be developing products and solutions for a variety of commercial and industrial markets, but will be paying close attention to wind turbine manufacturers.

“Our strategic operating plans include signifi cant sales targets in the wind energy industry, and equally signifi cant capital resources that we anticipate allocating toward meeting our sales and manufacturing goals,” Arnold says. “Plus, we are pleased that our new president has identifi ed wind energy as a priority for his administration and our country.” The Windpower conference was listed in Tradeshow Week magazine as one of the 50 fastest growing shows magazine as one of the 50 fastest growing shows in North America. It has been held previously in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. The 2010 conference is tentatively scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. This year’s conference is returning to Chicago for the fi rst time since 2004. “We’re excited about coming back to Chicago,” said AWEA executive director, Randy Swisher in a press release. “The ‘windy city’ offers an ideal mix of hospitality and exhibition facilities in a vibrant downtown setting. We are grateful to offi cials in Chicago’s hospitality sector, as well as the offi ce of Mayor Richard Daley for their efforts to accommodate the show.” Windpower 2009 will feature more than 300 speakers and moderators, 150 poster presentation and 50 sessions on wind energy topics focusing on policy, business and technical subjects. More than 13,000 attendees and 776 exhibitors are scheduled to participate in the conference. The theme of the conference in 2009 is “Wind Power: Securing America’s Energy Future.”

While the AWEA recognizes that organizing an event of this size can ultimately result in negative impacts on the environment, members are working each year to promote green initiatives throughout the duration of the show. Some of the highlights in 2009 include: • Online registration and a digital brochure are available to limit hard copy mailings. • An online abstract submittal and review process is in place for the conference programs. • Conference badges and bags will be collected at the end of the conference and recycled. • A green travel program is in place for attendees that want to reduce the environmental impact of their air or car travel to the conference. • Partnering with Community Energy, Inc. to offset the energy use at McCormick Place. • The exhibitor manual was provided online as well as in CD-ROM format versus sending out hard copy kits. • Coordinating with the convention center catering company to provide an environmentally friendly disposable service for food as well as plastic products. • An onsite environmental survey will be incorporated into the site selection process for future host cities.