ISA NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Infantino
(919) 990-9287
jinfantino@isa.org
ISA EXPO 2006 Proves a Hit for Attendees and Exhibitors
Research Triangle Park, NC (8 November 2006) - ISA EXPO 2006 wrapped up on Thursday, 19 October in Houston, Texas. The three day event, held at the Reliant Center, featured a cutting-edge technical conference, a renowned training program, and an exhibition featuring some of the newest technology on the market today.
Nearly 13,000 attendees had the opportunity to hear impressive keynote addresses from international experts, attend over 70 conference sessions, and see the latest developments from over 550 exhibitors on the show floor.
Exhibitors were impressed with the types of attendees that they met at this year's event. "We've had so many qualified leads this week. Every day, we had a captive audience, and that's been really great," said Laureen Lashyn, BW Technologies' supervisor of tradeshows and advertising.
"There's so much excitement on the show floor this year. All of these new types of technology - like wireless and programmable automation controllers - are really motivating attendees to learn more while they're visiting exhibitors," added Robert Jackson, National Instruments Product Marketing Manager.
The keynote addresses held each morning proved to be popular for the attendees. Tuesday's keynote address, delivered by Peter Batey, refinery manager at the Alliance Refinery for ConocoPhillips, focused on his refinery's efforts to regain full operations after Hurricane Katrina forced a complete shut down. Wednesday's keynote address and Rimbach Lecture was presented by worldwide expert on process safety and loss prevention Professor Trevor Kletz.
Professor Kletz has written eleven books, over 100 papers, and over 300 articles on loss prevention and process safety. His work includes studies of inherently safer design, Hazop and QRA, human error, accident case histories and investigations, hazards of modifications, and hazards of computer control.
During Thursday's keynote, entitled "Dick's Last Retort", Dick Morley and his panel discussed the flight of jobs, education, innovation, and commitment; global warming; and government regulation and its impact on technological development.
Inspired by the excitement of the younger generation of automation professionals, ISA held YAPFEST, the Young Automation Professional Festival, at this year's event. The festival, open only to automation professionals and students aged 30 and under, featured networking opportunities with industry executives, food, entertainment, and prizes.
The YAPs were also given free admission to ISA EXPO conference sessions on the day of their festival.
This year's event also featured, for the first time, the Control Systems Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) Roundtable Discussions. The sessions brought users of industrial automation solutions together to discuss their experiences. The discussions were not open to vendors or press to ensure a free, open environment to discuss user issues.
"Users were able to share their experiences, both good and bad, in an uncensored, unscripted environment," said Dale Lee, ISA Director of Convention Services. "This program really fits into ISA's mission to serve as an unbiased, independent platform for information exchange."
The roundtables addressed platforms from leading suppliers in the automation industry.
"All of the new opportunities that we were able to offer our attendees this year definitely added to the overall excitement of the crowd," said Lee.
Paul Breese-Garelick, Product Specialist for Transcat, agreed. "This is our 24th consecutive ISA show, and we've seen not only a larger quantity of leads, but more importantly, a higher quality to those leads. There's an energy here that's contagious," he said.
"This is the largest and best industrial show that we go to," said Howard Bell, North American Sales Manager of PCB Piezotronics/IMI Sensors. "We see more customers and more opportunities here than anywhere else. We'll be back next year, and we'll continue to support ISA 100%."
About ISA
Founded in 1945, ISA (www.isa.org) is a leading, global, nonprofit organization that is setting the standard for automation by helping over 30,000 worldwide members and other professionals solve difficult technical problems, while enhancing their leadership and personal career capabilities. Based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, ISA develops standards; certifies industry professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; and hosts the largest conference and exhibition for automation professionals in the Western Hemisphere. ISA is the founding sponsor of The Automation Federation (www.automationfederation.org).
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