BOILER 2024, the ABMA Technology Conference & Expo, is approaching quickly. In preparation for the event, scheduled for May 1-3 in Denver, Today’s Boiler connected with Eric Graham, chair of the BOILER 2024 advisory committee, to discuss some of the groundbreaking event’s features and highlights.
Today’s Boiler: Please introduce yourself and your company.
Eric Graham: My name is Eric Graham, and I am the national sales manager for Webster Combustion Technology LLC. Webster Combustion is located in Winfield, Kansas, where I grew up and call home. We are a manufacturer of combustion equipment that is mainly used in the boiler industry.
Today’s Boiler: Tell us about the role ABMA plays in your professional career and the industry as a whole.
Graham: I have been involved with ABMA since the mid to late 1990s, and there is no doubt this association has helped to shape my career. I was exposed to, and became friends with, many boiler industry leaders; gained insight into our market; and heard perspectives from my contemporaries on many issues. From 2013-2020, I was proud to serve on the ABMA board of directors and found that to be an exceptional experience. Seeing the inner workings of our association helped me to appreciate, even more clearly, how strong it is, and I know it will continue to lead and shape our industry for years to come. In 2020, I was appointed chair of the advisory committee for ABMA’s inaugural boiler expo, BOILER 2022. Our committee worked closely with staff and was instrumental in the success of the event, which took place in April 2022 in Dallas. I am excited to continue in this role for BOILER 2024.
Today’s Boiler: Please tell our readers more about the success of the inaugural BOILER 2022, and update us on how the event’s evolved since then — what’s new?
Graham: BOILER 2022 was the first time ABMA managed a trade show and brought together the entire boiler supply chain. We could not have been more pleased with the way the show was attended in Dallas. The feedback we received was extremely positive and encouraged us to move forward with BOILER 2024. We learned a lot from our inaugural event and are putting in place many enhancements, including a larger expo hall with food functions, relaxation, and charging stations; an expanded mobile boiler parking lot; a members-only lounge; and much, much more.
The biggest lesson learned was the importance of manufacturers’ representatives within our supply chain and the need for further engagement to help us leverage their contacts to attract end users to our show.
Since BOILER 2022, ABMA has created a membership category for manufacturer representatives, with more than 20 companies in our inaugural class. We are excited about the major role our manufacturer representatives will have at BOILER 2024, within the membership, and many of our future initiatives.
Today’s Boiler: This brings us to ABMA’s upcoming Boiler Technology Conference & Expo – BOILER 2024. Please give us a general overview of the event and what an attendee should expect.
Graham: While BOILER 2022 was a huge success, BOILER 2024 is going to be bigger and, more importantly, better. We expect an outstanding event that will showcase ABMA members, the leading boiler manufacturers, and our member representatives who liaison with our end users, offering sales and service for everything in a boiler room. In addition to a large exhibit floor that will include products from close to 100 companies, there will be informative educational sessions, insightful speakers, and fantastic networking events that will allow everyone to network in a beautiful setting at the Gaylord Rockies.
Today’s Boiler: The event is billed as the only event focused exclusively on the boiler industry. Tell us why it’s so important to unite the entire supply chain in one space.
Graham: There is no other trade show that focuses solely on the boiler industry. Most of the shows our members attend are very large, and the boiler portion is a very small piece of the event. Or it’s a smaller show focused on a particular industry, like brewing or hospitals, that includes many products not related to boilers. We flipped that concept on its head. The ABMA Boiler Expo is only about boilers and boiler room accessories, so there is no time wasted when looking for the boiler products you want to see, as they’re all going to be there.
Today’s Boiler: BOILER 2024 will also feature tours of the boiler rooms of the Gaylord Rockies and Denver International Airport (DIA). What makes a boiler room unique, and what can attendees expect to learn?
Graham: There’s nothing more impactful than seeing boiler products in action, showcasing the cutting-edge of boiler technology. Attendees will have the opportunity to talk with the personnel who run the boiler room and the proud manufacturers who worked with the end users to meet and exceed their boiler needs.
The Gaylord Rockies’ boiler room is just steps away from the expo floor and features a heating capacity of more than 100 million Btuh, including four 6 million Btuh condensing boilers with low-NOx burners, four conventional-style boilers of 20 million Btuh each, and two steam boilers for laundry. The system also includes six 4,000-gallon domestic water storage tanks, a combined heat and power (CHP) plant with two engines of 2.5 megawatts each, and a heat exchanger sized for 13 million Btuh transfer.
The DIA’s boiler room has the role of producing hot water needs for the third busiest airport in the world. We will offer tours at the DIA boiler room, which features six hot water boilers each, ranging from 20 million to 60 million Btuh, serving all airport facilities with an area of 6.6 million square feet.
Today’s Boiler: This year’s event will also feature a “Women in the Boiler Industry” panel and luncheon. What a great way to celebrate the industry’s leading ladies. Tell us about this endeavor.
Graham: ABMA understands the importance of reaching nontraditional audiences to promote the boiler industry and bring awareness to great opportunities in manufacturing. ABMA board members Nancy Simoneau and Tricia Staible have made significant contributions to ABMA and the boiler industry, and we want to celebrate them and inspire others. There are many opportunities for women to create wonderful careers in the boiler industry. We have no doubt this panel and luncheon is going to be very popular, and we’re excited to add this to the BOILER 2024 schedule.
Today’s Boiler: You mentioned chairing the BOILER 2024 advisory committee. Tell us what it’s been like working with so many major players in the industry and all the collaborative work that went on behind the scenes.
Graham: Being a part of the advisory committee for both BOILER 2022 and BOILER 2024 has been a great experience. We have an outstanding group of members with diverse talents and perspectives, and all of us have extensive experience participating in industry trade shows. We know what has worked for our companies, and we have strived to build a trade show that will be a great benefit for our member companies and all of our attendees.
This group has been willing to put in the time and effort, including traveling to on-site meetings, to make BOILER 2024 the very best event for the boiler industry. We have enjoyed working on this event together and can’t wait to see it unfold in Denver this May.
Today’s Boiler: The event is open to one and all. Who should attend the event? Why should consulting/specifying engineers consider attending?
Graham: Anyone who has anything to do with boilers or boiler accessories should attend BOILER 2024. From end users to boiler technicians and everyone in between, there will be something for you at this event. Along with the opportunity to see all the latest products, BOILER 2024 will offer educational sessions on current and emerging boiler technologies to facilitate and work toward ensuring safe and efficient boiler rooms. In addition, if you’re a consulting or specifying engineer, this is your opportunity to converse directly with manufacturers and their representatives and learn all about the products to meet your clients’ needs in their boiler rooms.
Today’s Boiler: Anything else you’d like to add?
Graham: I would like to touch briefly on the two general sessions we recently announced for BOILER 2024. We are thrilled this year to host Travis Mills as our opening keynote speaker. Mills, a retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant of the 82nd Airborne, is a recalibrated warrior, motivational speaker, actor, author, and an advocate for veterans and amputees. Mills is also the founder and CEO of the Travis Mills Foundation, formed to benefit and assist post-911 veterans who have been injured in active duty or as a result of their service to our nation. He documented his story in the New York Times bestselling memoir, “Tough as They Come.”
Despite losing portions of both arms and legs from an improvised explosive device (IED) while on active duty in Afghanistan, Mills continues to overcome life’s challenges, breaking physical barriers and defying odds. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. Thanks to his amazing strength, courage, and incredible will to live, the heroic actions of the men in his unit, the prayers of thousands, and all the health care providers, Mills remains on the road to recovery. Every day is a battle, but he continues to astound friends and family alike with his progress and with his amazing spirit. He lives by the motto: “Never give up. Never quit.”
His story and his work with the Travis Mills Foundation will be an amazing and inspiring kick off to BOILER 2024.
In addition, for the first time, ABMA will be hosting a State of the Boiler Industry Leadership Panel as a feature during our general session on May 3. Scott Lynch, president and CEO, ABMA, will moderate the panel of industry leaders discussing the opportunities and challenges in the boiler industry, including the increasing rate of boiler innovation, investments in renewable technology, product education, and workforce challenges among others.
Be sure to join us May 1-3 at the Gaylord Rockies for BOILER 2024! Register and engage at
www.BOILER2024.com.
By Herb Woerpel, editor-in-chief, Today’s Boiler
