Industry events

Coaches offer business advice at BSA annual meeting in April

The Bearing Specialists Association (BSA) has invited leading experts to its 2004 annual convention to coach delegates on three of today’s toughest business topics: the economy, sales and leadership.

The meeting, scheduled for April 24-27, 2004, at Marriott’s Harbor Beach Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., also will feature a special Canadian event on April 24. The theme of the convention is “Experience the Influence.”

The invited keynote speakers are: Thomas J. Winninger, founder of the Winninger Institute for Market Strategy and author of the best selling books, Price Wars, Hiring Smart, Sell Easy and Full Price; Jim Pancero, an authority on sales and sales management whose programs focus on innovative, cutting-edge selling processes and strategies for the new global marketplace; and John Cassis, who brings real life examples to his audiences by sharing his experiences as a professional baseball player with the California Angels, 12 years as a pre-game speaker for the Chicago Bears, as well as his current aspirations of taking on the Senior Tour as a scratch golfer. His humorous, inspirational presentations encourage people to face adversity, embrace change, and meet the daily pressures of modern life head on.

Sten Malmstrom, president SKF USA, will return to the annual convention in 2004 to offer an update from the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA). Attendees will also hear from NAW/NAM (the national associations of warehousing and manufacturing) speakers on continuing efforts to protect the future of manufacturing in the United States.

In addition to the schedule of speakers, the convention will once again feature a working session. These prescheduled one-on-one meetings between distributors and manufacturers were enhanced in 2003 with advance on-line registration, which also is available for this year’s sessions. Attendees on both sides of the conference table found that prescheduling the meetings allowed them to prepare for meetings in advance and, therefore, get more value from the time they spend together.

As always, the convention schedule encourages attendees to maximize their participation with a host of informal networking opportunities at social and sporting events, including golf and tennis tournaments and the closing dinner dance.

Convention details and registration information are available at the BSA convention website, www.bsaconventions.org.

Members of the 2004 convention committee are Cam and Elaine Lawrence, BDI-Canada, Inc.(see separate story on page 29); Jeff and Jennifer Ramras, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT); Jamie and Lindy Martin, The Timken Corporation; and Doug and Janie Savage, Bearing Service Inc.

BSA is an international service and educational organization of distributors, representing more than 70 companies distributing factory-warranted ball-, roller-, and anti-friction bearings. For more information on the association, contact the BSA office at 630-858-3838; fax 630-790-3095; e-mail info@bsahome.org or visit the website at www.bsahome.org.

ROLLER BEARING MAINTENANCE SEMINAR TO BE COMPREHENSIVE

The Spring Session of NTN Bearing Corp. of Canada Ltd.’ Roller Bearing Application and Maintenance Seminar will take place May 10-13, 2004, at the company’s headquarters in Mississauga, Ont.

The intensive, 3-1/2-day course on the design, application and maintenance of anti-friction bearings will be presented using lectures and hands-on workshops. The workshops have been selected to highlight common maintenance problems that result in premature bearing failure.

Workshop presenters include NTN’s Dan Leah, Randy Ikenouye, Sonny Wilcox and Marcus Wickert. In conjunction with classroom lectures, participants will learn the correct procedures for mounting the following types of bearings:

– large bore spherical roller bearings (including the use of hydraulics)

– tapered roller bearings (mounting and setting end play)

– deep groove ball bearings

– cylindrical roller bearings

– bearing units

– small bore spherical roller bearing pillow blocks.

Participants also will learn the fundamentals of current bearing technology, including:

– bearing design and materials

– cage configurations and materials: features and benefits

– extra precision: what is required

– bearing life: theory vs. reality.

The program is ideally suited to anyone involved in the maintenance of machinery and specifically, those with duties that include the installation and maintenance of anti-friction bearings. The program is structured so that it is not specific to any industry.

For more information, contact NTN Canada, tel. 905-564-2700, fax 905-564-9023, or visit www.ntn.ca to download a brochure and registration form.

QUEBEC’S TECHNIBOIS SHOW FOCUSES ON SAWMILLING MACHINERY

The 7th edition of Quebec’s TechniBois show and event will be held at the Quebec City Trade & Consumer Show Centre, April 29, 30 and May 1, 2004.

TechniBois 2004 will provide visitors with an opportunity to learn more about the many uses of wood energy. Conferences will also be presented on the latest advancements, technologies and trends that affect the wood industry. Conferences are held on site.

TechniBois is the only event of its kind held in Canada every two years where an overview of equipment, supplies and cutting edge technologies is presented for the sawmilling and woodworking sectors. More than 5,000 visitors are expected to attend the event.

For more information, contact Marylene Daigneault by phone at 819-344-2247, by e-mail at info@technibois.com, or visit www.technibois.com.

EASA ONTARIO CHAPTER MEETS IN TORONTO

The annual general meeting and trade show of the Ontario Chapter of the Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA) in Toronto Jan. 23-24, 2004, proved popular as representatives from rewind shops, motor manufacturers and others in the industry turned out for two days of seminars, networking and meetings.

A two-day course on Competitive Sales Strategies presented by Joe Ellers was a big draw at the meeting, while a seminar on Due Diligence regarding health and safety issues received mild support.

A highlight of the meeting was a presentation by Bill Nielsen, EASA’s international vice-chairman, on the state of the EASA industry. He discussed both problems and opportunities that member face in the future.

The Spring meeting of the group will take place at the Wyndham Bristol Place hotel in Toronto April 23-24, 2004. This event will feature a seminar on AC Drives and Soft Starters presented by V.J. Pamensky, a ladies program with a fashion show and makeover session, and a murder mystery dinner. Motion Electric of Mississauga, Ont., will be the official host shop for the event.

The Ontario association’s fall meeting will take place Sept. 11-12, 2004, in Leamington, Ont. It will feature a business meeting and dinner on Peelee Island and a plant tour of the nearby H.J. Heinz facility.

Members also were encouraged to attend EASA International’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., June 20-23, 2004.

FIRST ANNUAL STLE CONFERENCE IN CANADA FOR 18 YEARS

Anyone involved with lubrication should plan to join about 1,500 tribology and lubrication professionals representing 50 industries from around the world at the 2004 Society of Tribologists & Lubrication Engineers (STLE) Annual Meeting & Exhibition, May 17-20, 2004, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto.

The meeting offers one of the premier educational experiences available anywhere for tribologists, lubrication engineers, researchers, educators, technicians, lubricators, students and just about anyone who is involved in the world of lubrication. The participants will be from corporate research and development, marketing and sales, manufacturing, academia, and gove
rnment. This attendance profile makes the STLE Annual Meeting an extraordinary business and professional networking opportunity.

The conference, the first in Canada since 1986, is being organized by members of STLE’s Toronto and Hamilton sections, who have teamed up to produce a networking and social program as well as tours and activities for spouses.

The details of the program for STLE 2004 can be found on the association’s website at www.stle.org. There are about 200 technical and practical presentations being given at the Toronto meeting. The topics will range from advanced calculations for bearing design to the proper application of the right lubricants to keep them running, condition monitoring, metalworking, power generation, steel, aerospace, bearings, grease, hydraulics, engine and drivetrain, and more.

Practical, application-based education courses also are featured, and students can earn competency certificates for completing course requirements.

Registration fees for the conference will remain the same as 2003, and a one-day registration fee option has been added.

The meeting will also present an exhibit program with more than 80 companies and organizations presenting the latest in products and services for the lubrication professional.

Registration for the Annual Meeting entitles delegates to attend the technical sessions, a Welcoming Party on Monday evening, the exhibits Monday through Wednesday, the President’s Luncheon on Tuesday, and all other sponsored events.

Registration for a course allows attendance at the course, any of the technical sessions, the Welcoming Party on Monday evening, the exhibits Monday through Wednesday, the President’s Luncheon on Tuesday, and all other sponsored events. It is not necessary to register for the Annual Meeting if you are already registered for a course.

To request registration materials or more information, call 847-825-5536 or e-mail information@stle.org.

TECHNOLOGY TRAIN SEEN AT CHICAGO’S MANUFACTURING WEEK

Siemens Energy & Automation of Atlanta, Ga., brought its Exider technology train to Chicago for National Manufacturing Week, Feb. 23-26, 2004, kicking off a 10-city, U.S. coast-to-coast tour of the 1,000-ft exhibit on rails. It will come to Canada shortly after the U.S. tour wraps up in May 2004.

Siemens uses the train as a high-tech platform to showcase its products, solutions and services. Jammed with technology, the 14 rail cars house 224 plasma screens and monitors, 189 DVD players, four servers, nine miles of electrical cables and almost two miles of data lines. Some of the rail cars were specially transported into McCormick Place for the NMW exhibit.

Rolling coast-to-coast, the “trade show on rails” will put its technology to use to simulate specific customer applications in pharmaceutical and chemical industries, automobile manufacturing, commercial power distribution and other customer sectors.

For instance, in the process automation section, visitors will pass through a tube where different process industry planning steps are demonstrated using animated video installations. Later, visitors will find themselves in a simulated control room, overseeing the entire production process in realistic detail.

“It’s a customer event on wheels,” said John Dimmerling, Siemens Energy & Automation director of marketing communications and Exider project coordinator. “The technology and applications that customers can get close to in this unique environment are fantastic.

Siemens is betting that the Exider can continue cutting through cultural differences and racking up staggering numbers as it has around the world. Since its rollout in Europe in 2002, the Exider has toured more than 120 cities in 22 countries and hosted more than 100,000 visitors, including its most recent 16-city, three-month tour of China.

According to Siemens statistics, 25% of Exider’s guests have been potential customers, and the average guest’s visit has lasted 87 minutes. In Europe, the Exider has been credited with gaining new customers, developing stronger relationships with existing customers and increasing brand awareness.

The U.S. goal is to board more than 15,000 carefully selected guests who make purchasing decisions as engineering constructors, contractors, consulting engineers, OEMs, government agencies and industrial and system integrators.

After Chicago, the train heads to Atlanta (March 16-17), then, over a two-and-a-half month period, on to Washington, D.C. (March 22), New York (March 24-25), Boston (March 29-30). Detroit (April 2), Houston (April 7), Los Angeles (May 14), San Francisco (May 18) and Seattle (May 24).

Between Houston and Los Angeles the train will be on loan to Grupo Siemens S.A. de C.V. in Mexico, and after Seattle will continue north for a tour with Siemens Canada Ltd. of Mississauga, Ont.

“With the Exider, we are taking the Siemens message directly to our customers and joining them on a trip through the world of modern industrial automation, drive, switching and installation technology,” Dimmerling said. “It’s an ambitious ‘rolling exhibition’ that has been successful in every country it has toured. Siemens’ technology base is so broad, we even provide some of the drives used by the train’s locomotive. If we tried to feature all the technologies that Siemens makes, this train would be miles long.”

For more information, visit www.sea.siemens.com.

EXFOR ATTRACTS OVER 100 NEW EXHIBITORS

The Pulp & Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC) achieved a milestone in January when it held its 90th annual meeting during PaperWeek International 2004 at the Palais des Congrs in Montreal.

The event featured dozens of technical seminars and awards presentations, as well as a large trade show, Exfor. The show is the world’s largest exhibition of technology for the pulp and paper industry and other heavy industries. More than 400 exhibitors participated in the show, over 100 of whom were new this year.

Next year’s event has been set for Feb. 8-10, 2005, at the same venue.