HOUSTON - Attendance at the recent Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia was not yet back to levels before the coronavirus pandemic hit, but the energy was alive and well.
The event took place Sept. 12-15 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Texas. It brought together pump and turbomachinery industry leaders and end users. Pumps & Systems Media had a booth and interacted with readers and OEMs.
It was the second TPS event since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. Last year’s event took place, as scheduled, in late December. This was one right on time.
“Just the sentiment I’ve gotten from everybody here is that there’s a lot of energy,” said Greg Gammon, director of global and corporate partnerships at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). “From talking to exhibitors, maybe the traffic isn’t quite as heavy as it was pre-covid, but the quality of people here is outstanding, and everybody was pretty pleased.”
Normally, the event will host around 4,500-5,000 people. The attendance number has not been released yet, but numbers aren’t quite to that number yet. However, Gammon said the short courses on Monday (Sept. 12) were full as people took advantages of educational opportunities. The exhibit hall was open Tuesday through Thursday.
“It’s finding solutions to problems and finding vendors who can help solve those problems,” Gammon said. “That’s a big part of the exhibit for them.
For more information on the Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia, go here.
Short courses are geared toward solving problems in maintenance, reliability and performance, Gammon said. There were other technical classes offered throughout the days that the exhibit hall was open.
Another big event was the Women in Industry session. Gammon said there were two men at the first event, held in 2019. This year, there were 20.
“It’s a great way for men to understand the challenges women have going into industry,” Gammon said. “The discussion panel session, it gives you a perspective that a lot of men don’t have and need to understand. Many of the guys in the room were younger. I think it’s a good education for them to understand the challenges women have and how they can support women.”
Next year’s TPS will be held from Sept. 26-28, 2023.
“One of the things we want to push right now is the call for papers for the next event goes out immediately and closes sometime in late October,” Gammon said. “The cycle has already started. The opportunity is there. Now is the time to do it.”