Well the 2012 PEI/NACS show is over. You can view the PEI Exhibitor Guide online. And what a show it was! Here are some of the highlights we enjoyed while at the show:
Andy Tait, Alan Lopez, Brian Harmon and Melanie Nelson came to Las Vegas to represent Tait Environmental Services at the Show. We occupied booth #4818 and were glad to attend. Andy Tait is an Environmental P.E. with over 20 years of experience in investigation and remediation, spill plans, stormwater plans, general environmental and safety and compliance, Tier II submittals, and has worked extensively with underground and aboveground storage tank systems compliance issues. Alan Lopez, Senior Project Manager, Southeastern Region, has been in construction project management and sales marketing/business development since 1991. He came to NACS to talk about fuel system construction projects in the TX, OK, and LA areas. People came with questions regarding fuel system construction services – installation and removals, underground and aboveground fuel systems, especially relating to gas stations and marinas. Several suppliers stopped by to touch base on the projects just finished and currently going on. Brian Harmon played a key role in authoring the newly published PEI Recommended Practice 1200 which was presented in two educational sessions at NACS. Brian was on site at the NACS Show for the PEI Presentations, and spent time both at the TAIT booth and in PEI’s main area for the Q&A sessions. Melanie Nelson (me) is the Business Development and Technology Solutions manager, and I attended to promote our new C-Store Training Packages. We have packaged, together with our training partner 360training, both tank-centric training, like A/B UST Operator Training, C Operator Training and Safety Training with Alcohol Server/Reseller Training, Food Handler training, and more! There are packages for C-Store Managers that are manager specific, and packages for Clerks that can be considered new hire packages. We are offering significant discounts for these bulk purchases and look forward to offering our products in this new way.
Were you blinded by the bright red carpet at NACS? A lot of us were! I didn’t see anyone wearing sunglasses, though they were on sale at a few places. I got a kick out of how exact the shade of red matched my suit. You know how hard it is to match reds? This picture is an unretouched iPhone pic – and I match the carpet, almost disappearing in the photos when I hide my hands and face!
The RP1200 presentation was standing room only. There might have been some seats, but I don’t think there were enough seats for everyone that was standing. We met with some good clients, existing and new ones. The 5-Hour Energy company was there, and I’m sure all the attendees took full advantage (we did). The show was well attended. It was interesting that nearly everyone we talked to was staying in a different hotel. Andy asked out of curiosity, but there wasn’t a winner as there are so many great places to stay in Vegas.
On the electronics side, everybody seems to be going as digital as possible. Things are smaller and more convenient. Even though the show is in Nevada, we’re seeing a lot of systems that have the equipment to meet the California standards.
Veeder-Root came out with the new TLS-450 to step up their 350 line. The TLS-300 series is also offered. The TLS4 is the upgrade version of the TLS-300 series monitor. It’s going to have a little more functionality but won’t have all the added features that the TLS-450 will have. It’s for users that don’t have that many tanks, or don’t need that many functions for their facility. The biggest difference is it has an LED display / digital display versus just having the printout. You can actually see the tank on the display. They upgraded the digital display on the TLS-450 and the TLS4. Right now, it is only available internationally. Veeder-Root is currently in the process of getting all the certifications to offer the TLS4 in the Continental US.
I talked with Todd Cole (Containment Solutions & NUPI Factory Rep) who says he is very excited to see all of the new business generated from (DEF) fiberglass UST sales. He says, “The industry hasn’t had a new fluid to market in many years. DEF is finally here and gives everyone opportunities to expand and grow. I was also excited to see Nupi’s polyethylene pipe display at NACS. NUPI guarantees a 30 year warranty and also has the ability to preassemble sumps with fittings for the installer at their factory in Houston, TX. It saves the installers a whole day in pipe layout and installation.”
We were set up near the Husky products. One product I really liked was the pink Husky dispenser nozzle, which I enjoyed referring to as “the other breast pump”. How great is it that vendors are even marketing on nozzles now? When it’s for a good cause, that is. The Susan G. Komen pink has become even more predominant than Mary Kay pink in my day to day interactions.
PEI has uploaded the presentations from the education sessions at the show. Take advantage of technology, and if you were not able to attend the sessions, click here to download. NACS videoed their many educational sessions and they are available for purchase. If you have some feedback from the show, please share it – we love to hear from you!
It was great to see old friends, current clients and meet new connections. Thank you PEI/NACS Show 2012!