Noria Delivers Info-packed Event

More than 1,000 industrial professionals attended RELIABLE PLANT 2009, Noria Corporation's annual conference and exhibition, held August 31-September 3 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Attendees represented companies from 42 states and 17 countries. This year's event included five co-located trade shows:

• Lubrication Excellence
• Reliability World
• Lean Manufacturing
• Plant Energy/Sustainability
• Plant Safety

RELIABLE PLANT 2009 marked the ninth year of Lubrication Excellence, the fifth year of Reliability World and the fourth year of Lean Manufacturing, as well as the first installment of Plant Energy/Sustainability and Plant Safety.

"Many attendees commented that this was Noria's biggest and best conference ever from a content perspective," said Paul V. Arnold, the editor-in-chief of Noria Publishing. "The lineup of speakers provided game plans for the real-world issues that industrial pros are facing today."

During the three main days of the conference, September 1-3, nearly 90 case studies, industry reports and training sessions were presented. Mike DaPrile, who recently retired from his longtime position of vice president of manufacturing at Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America and who has spent 47 years in the global automotive industry, provided the opening keynote address.

Lubrication Excellence presentations were delivered by leaders from: Noria, Eli Lilly, Covance, Albemarle, Kittiwake, Timken Reliability Solutions, Donaldson, Fluitec International, Reliable Process Solutions and Dave Wooton Consulting.

Reliability World presentations were given by leaders from: MillerCoors, Holcim, Cargill, Goodyear, Coca-Cola North America, Arch Coal, John Morrell & Company, Emerson, Manufacturing Solutions International, Noria, Vesta Partners, Apollo Associated Services, Richard Palmer and Associates, The Snell Group, Pruftechnik, Life Cycle Engineering, GP Allied, John Crossan Consulting, CenTec, Catalyst Consulting & Reliability, Reliable Process Solutions and Strategic Services Group.

Lean track presentations were given by leaders from: Novelis, Kennametal, Plexus, Wausau Paper, AbitibiBowater, NSK, Johnson Screens - Weatherford International, ABB, Grainger, Auburn University, The Lean Leadership Academy, WCM Associates, Dynamic Business Solutions and Smarter Solutions.

Plant Energy/Sustainability presentations were given by leaders from: Toyota, Navistar International, PPG Industries, Wheelabrator Technologies, Trane, SKF, Cleaver-Brooks, UE Systems, EnerNOC Inc., Life Cycle Engineering, Infor, Energy Pathfinder Management Consulting and Energy Industries of Ohio.

Plant Safety presentations were given by leaders from: Texas Instruments, Worthington Industries, Ross Controls, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Brady Corporation, the University of Tennessee Reliability and Maintenance Center, IRISS, New Pig Corporation, Combustion Safety, AVEVA, Grainger, HR and Safety Resources, and Predictive Service.

At the expansive exhibition hall, more than 125 suppliers featured new products and industry solutions.

Workshops from Richard Palmer and Associates as well as Fuss & O'Neill Manufacturing Solutions were held on August 31. SMRP held testing for its Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional certification on August 31. ICML held testing for its Machine Lubricant Analyst (MLA), Machine Lubrication Technician (MLT) and Laboratory Lubricant Analyst (LLA) certifications on August 31 and September 2.

Noria's 2010 conference and exhibition will be held August 31-September 2 in Nashville, Tenn. To learn more about this event as well as additional education and training events, visit www.noria.com.