Fond Memories of the Evolving Powder ShowFond Memories of the Evolving Powder Show

I fondly remember the "old days" of what has become known as the Powder Show. I had been working at Jenike & Johanson since 1972. I began my career as a lab technician, running Jenike shear tests and evaluating the data. Thanks to my mentors, Drs. Andrew Jenike, Jerry Johanson, and especially John Carson, I worked my way out of the lab, received my bachelors in mechanical engineering degree from Northeastern University in Boston, and worked as a project engineer for J&J for 23 years. I founded Solids Handling Technologies in 1997 and I am still quite active in the bulk solids handling industry.

My first Powder Show was 1978 and as I remember, it was quite an intimidating experience. I had never seen so much solids handling equipment in one place. I was working as a project engineer for only a short time and did not have much field experience. So visiting the Powder Show was a great learning experience. I met many vendors and lecturers, and soaked up as much as I could.

One of my fondest memories while attending the show was the fact that it was "old home week". We are part of a very large industry, handling bulk solids, but everyone at the show seemed know each other. Relationships were re-kindled after a year (now two years) of not seeing everyone. The show has undergone many changes over the years, and in the last few years has become quite relevant.

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The conferences bring speakers that are tops in their field under one roof. I have been lecturing for years and I am always impressed at the number of conference attendees. A major change in the Powder Show conference program was that each seminar was limited to 1½ hours. This may not sound like much, but instead of the attendees spending 3-6 hours in a session, as they did in the past, they were able to attend a session and also visit the show. This was always a constant complaint in the past, as conference attendees did not have enough time to visit the show and conversely, that exhibitors were not exposed to conference attendees.

Show management has continued to try new approaches. I particularly like the tours of the show. Two years ago I led the first group of 35 attendees through the show, highlighting bins, silo, and feeders. Each of the participants was given a headset and I had a microphone that allowed me to communicate with the whole group while walking around the show to each of the selected booths. Each of the booths that we visited was notified of the tour and given the microphone and about five minutes to describe their products and discuss their value to our industry. I think this approach is extremely valuable, as many attendees are hesitant to walk up to booth for fear of being "pounced" on. As a large group, they can visit a booth and listen to a presentation without being singled out.

Lastly, another very important feature of the Powder Show is that it brings people together at a convenient location. Not only does this expose the attendee to bulk solids handling equipment, but it allows detailed discussions about problems, equipment, etc., whether at a table near the food court, or at hotels located with walking distance of the show.

Joe Marinelli is a consulting engineer and president, Solids Handling Technologies. He has been providing testing and consulting services since 1972. As a former consultant with Jenike & Johanson Inc., he has years of experience testing powders and designing bins and feeders for reliable flow.