One of my favorite parts of the Exchange are the Technology Exhibits. The Exhibits run Monday to Wednesday evening and I try to spend as much of the time they are open wandering through them. For me, Monday is the “scope things out day”. Unless I have something particular in mind I want to see, Monday I walk through everything and get my general bearings on what is there. What is new this year? What do I see that I really want to know about? Monday is when I plan my time for Tuesday and Wednesday so I know what exhibits and exhibitors I want to spend longer times with. Tuesday and Wednesday I am back in the hall going for hands on time. What are the new things that I really want to bring back to my various plants? Who in my organization needs to know about what new products?

While I do my scoping of the exhibits on Monday, other people like to get started a little in advance—plan who they need to see before they every get to the conference. Sometimes that is necessary just to justify the trip to your organization so you get authorization to come to Anaheim. If that is the case, the up to date list of the exhibitors is listed on the Exchange website. https://www.emersonexchangeregistration.org/scheduler/exhibitorCatalog.do

One of the best parts of Exchange is by Tuesday and Wednesday I’ve been to workshops and met other people from other organizations. Even if we don’t plan to Connect in at the exhibits hall, there they are—doing the same thing I’m doing. When this happens and multiple people from different companies start discussing how they might use a new product or technology, the creative ideas really start flowing and I get even more concepts to take back home.

The only problem I’ve ever had with the Technology Exhibits is when the coolest new product that I really want to see and talk about is what everyone else wants to see and talk about—so I can’t get through the crowd and get out in front. That is a disappointment, but at least I know what to ask about when I get home, or what to go to when I get back to the hall the next Exchange. That happened last year with the new DeltaV SIS system with the SIS charms. So this year, don’t expect to see me wondering around much first thing on Monday evening. I’ll be making a bee-line to the exhibit on the SIS system and Charms for DeltaV. Keith Bellville, you had better be ready!