Industrial Manufacturing and Engineering Professionals Gather at First Annual Process Heating & Cooling Show

ROSEMONT, IL – – Hundreds of industrial process heating and cooling equipment professionals gathered at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL for the inaugural Process Heating & Cooling Show. The conference and expo produced by BNP Media’s Process Heating & Cooling magazine offered a vibrant Exhibit Hall featuring dozens of exhibitors, including Silver Sponsor Omega; Bronze Sponsors ASTEC and Thermalogic; Association Partners: AMCA, IHEA, IIAR, RETA; Education Sponsors: Cleaver-Brooks, Control Instrument Corp., Dräger Inc., Environmental Energy Services Corp. and Frascold USA; in addition to dozens of other companies.

The event brought together numerous industries in the process industries, including oil and gas, electronics, pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, packaging, and plastics, to name a few. Attendees had a chance to connect face-to-face with like-minded peers, learn from business thought leaders, and uncover emerging trends and technologies.

“We thank our exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, attendees, media partners, and supporting organizations who helped us launch this first-time trade show and conference,” said Erik Klingerman, Senior Group Publisher, BNP Media. “We were pleased with our inaugural event and heard positive feedback from our exhibitors and attendees about the quality of the companies that were represented. We look forward to building on this success for our 2023 event.”

Two leaders in the industry delivered dynamic keynote addresses, which were extremely well received by attendees in the audience. Omar Nashashibi with The Franklin Partnership spoke about What the Government Means for the Process Industries. On Thursday morning Perry Stephens, Principal Technical Leader at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) discussed Cleaner, Greener & Safer – Electrifying the Process Heating & Cooling Industries.

“Omar and Perry both brought a fresh perspective and insight on the future of our industry to our attendees and shared with them vital information that truly got everyone thinking,” Klingerman added. “Keynotes are supposed to be inspiring, and both Omar and Perry delivered.”

“Our technical sessions covered the gamut from infrared heating to ammonia refrigeration and many industrial process heating and cooling topics in between,” said Linda Becker, Education Director, Process Heating & Cooling.  “Mike Humann’s session on minimizing fan effects, presented with our partner association AMCA International, included a live demonstration of how airflow is affected by good or bad duct design. It was easy to see how a single poorly placed elbow could be robbing your process and your bottom line. Improving energy efficiency was an overarching theme — one that is always helpful, and even more so in the current energy squeeze.”

Prior to the day two keynote, the inaugural Innovation Award was presented to Robert J. Ferguson, for French Creek Software, the industry-standard modeling program for cooling water systems. “Rob developed the first easily understood method for interpreting scaling indices that is widely used and accepted. He also has developed and implemented the concept of 3D graphs of operating profiles that indicate scale potential and the associated inhibitor dosage and failure points,” noted Michael Bourgeois of Chemco Products, one of several to nominate Ferguson for the award. French Creek Software was founded by Robert and Janet Ferguson in 1989. In accepting the award, Ferguson credited his wife, Janet, who played integral roles in the company while the couple raised their family.

The Innovation Award was created to recognize the innovative application of technical expertise or experience with industrial process heating and cooling equipment, projects or efforts to reduce costs, improve thermal processing efficiency and increase safety. In Robert’s honor, a $1000 scholarship donation was made in his name to the University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences, AXE Professional Chemistry Fraternity.

The first evening featured a Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall where peers connected and had a chance to chat with representatives from the exhibiting companies. During the show, 25% of the exhibitors renewed their commitment to exhibit at the 2023 Process Heating & Cooling Show which will be held on May 24-25, 2023 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.