Please describe one valuable idea or piece of information you gained at STLE’s 2014 Annual Meeting & Exhibition.
TLT Sounding Board July 2014
Regarding its annual meetings, STLE considers 1,400 paid registrants a home run. With 1,566 registered attendees, you can score the society’s 2014 conference as a grand slam. Including non-registered booth personnel, more than 1,900 members of the tribology and lubricant communities were in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, for five days in May to conduct business, present the latest tribology research and be recognized for their industry contributions. The meeting set records for attendance, number of technical presentations, number of exhibitors, number of Commercial Marketing Forum presentations and even number of hotels needed to provide overflow housing. As is always the case with STLE events, even a casual conversation can lead to a business relationship or valuable piece of technical information. And to all those benefits you can add an unparalleled international networking opportunity—94 percent of survey respondents said they made a new friend or professional contact at the meeting.
I gained value information about industry movements and activities from various customers and collaborators at the meeting—even while meeting during breaks and throughout the trade show.
As an additive supplier, my time was spent in our booth. We had several conversations with people regarding alternative uses for our products—other than the purpose for which they were developed. That was very interesting.
John Howell, MWF III session, paper on GHS. With 370 days left before new GHS requirements, he discussed how to use this opportunity. Rank your most important products, starting with the biggest 10-20 products in your line, and you will at least have updated those most important to your business.
Recruited an expert to write a review article. This happened between sessions!
Advanced my work on nanotechnology.
Biodegradability information and testing picked up during a technical session.
Grease Thief information from a Commercial Marketing Forum presented by Rich Wurzbach of MRG Labs.
I learned a lot about gears during the basic bearing course. I also met a company specializing in the sealing and pressurizing of bearing and gear housings. This prevents the ingress of outside contaminants, extending oil life and, eventually, equipment life—all the while keeping down maintenance cost.
Oil analysis as a key strategy in maintenance.
There was a very interesting presentation on heat treatment in my education class. Extremely useful.
Did you make at least one professional contact or new friend during STLE’s 2014 Annual Meeting & Exhibition?
Yes
94%
No
6%
Based on responses sent to 1,566 STLE Annual Meeting attendees.
The material on nanotechnology was interesting.
From the meeting: business contacts, direct contact with primary suppliers, latest available technology.
It was a marvelous get together of scientific minds working to improve living standards through science and engineering.
Much better understanding of concept of foam generation versus stability (Metalworking II session).
Became better educated on wind turbine gearboxes and lubricants.
Discussion with an exhibitor led to immediate follow-up that may make us suppliers of non-competitive products to each other.
Most productive interactions were scheduled customer meetings during lunch or dinner. Keynote address was quite good with a dynamic speaker offering great insights. Most of the synthetic and hydraulic lubrication seminars were useful. Some Commercial Marketing Forums were good. The most practical technical session was Rick Butler with Chemtool speaking on Varnish Elimination for Gear and Recirculating Bearing Oils.
Technical session: good input about possible wear mechanisms by nanofluids on aluminum and copper.
Maintained contact with international colleagues.
How would you rate the information value of STLE’s 2014 Annual Meeting & Exhibition?
Excellent
49%
Good
49%
Fair
2%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Based on responses sent to 1,566 STLE Annual Meeting attendees.
The most memorable was Premature White Etching Crack Bearing Failures in Wind Gearboxes.
Nanotechnology additive technology for our lubricants.
Great networking. I met with someone who may become an addition to our technical team.
We learned for the first time about an overseas competitor marketing products in the U.S.
Great information from the education course titled Metalworking Fluids 125: Health, Safety and Introduction to GHS. It dug much deeper into what has to be done on creating the safety data sheets and the conflict with other regulator agencies.
I had an epiphany about fueling infrastructure at the Keynote Address.
The Keynote speaker was very informative about the future of the automotive industry
The overall discussion concerning white etching cracks.
I gained interesting ideas and methods of simulating lubricant properties using molecular dynamics from the Lubrication Fundamentals VI track.
How would you rate the networking value of STLE’s 2014 Annual Meeting & Exhibition?
Excellent
56%
Good
39%
Fair
5%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Based on responses sent to 1,566 STLE Annual Meeting attendees.
I discussed some new instrumentation with a variety of lab vendors.
Confirmation that RULER testing can be useful for monitoring phosphate ester fire-resistant fluids. Learned from the Power Generation Industrial Council.
I found new ingredients for metalworking fluids in this meeting, and I participated in an education course that was very good.
I learned very interesting information about the behind-the-scenes mechanics of the Disney World rides.
Gained many ideas in the engine and drive train sessions.
Established new polymer sources.
Colleagues provided constructive and helpful feedback about my technical presentation and extended abstract.
From the Keynote Address, I learned the total energy cost of an electric car and how that related to other transportation technologies.
Editor’s Note: Sounding Board is based on an e-mail survey of 13,000 TLT readers. Views expressed are those of the respondents and do not reflect the opinions of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. STLE does not vouch for the technical accuracy of opinions expressed in Sounding Board, nor does inclusion of a comment represent an endorsement of the technology by STLE.