Railway Track & Structures - July 2008 - (Page 48)

CHICAGO PERSPECTIVE Heard through Grapevine n late May, I traveled to beautiful Grapevine, Texas, part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, to take part in the Railway Systems Suppliers, Inc., gathering. This meeting is unique among railroad sessions, and the 2008 confab lived up to the high standards set by its predecessors. As regular readers of this column know, I’ve been a fan of this current meeting format since its inception in 2001. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of the RSSI Board of Directors.) Its goal is to bring together the people who use the signal equipment in the field with the companies that manufacture and sell it. Whatever you have to say about this meeting, you have to admit that it achieves this goal. Since the inception of this format, suppliers were urged to meet people in the exhibit hall, not take them out for dinner or to the golf course. Meals are all served on the exhibit floor to reduce expenses for attendees and their companies and encourage railroads to send more of their people. The meeting sites have been in railroad hubs such as Kansas City, Omaha, Chicago, Louisville and Calgary so there would be a large number of folks who could attend the exhibit without having to spend much on travel or hotels. From 2004 to 2007, AREMA held a C&S technical conference immediately before the RSSI show. Railroad chief engineers wrote to many associations saying that their companies felt there were too many meetings, so AREMA did not hold a conference in conjunction with the RSSI gathering this year. From a supplier’s point of view, it was a great show. There were 427 attendees from the railroad/transit/government category, i.e., customers, which is up from 363 the past year in Calgary. Attendees had the opportunity to visit with 143 exhibitors, up from 121 in 2007. My impression was that, all in all, everyone was happy. I heard no serious negative comments about the attendance. There will always be some complaints. Having married off my four daughters, I learned that at weddings, even though you feed people, provide I beverages and entertainment, there are still some complaints. That’s human nature. But only 47 exhibitors took the time to fill out the comment form. That’s a sad response because feedback is needed to improve any show. And I heard that the only folks who made negative comments on the evaluations plan to be back next year, some with even more space. If people just complain and don’t take the time to do something as simple as filling out the evaluation form, then nothing will change. I know the RSSI staff is looking at ways to address some comments raised on the evaluation forms and they will present proposals to the Board to improve the overall satisfaction of exhibitors and attendees. Another way to make your voice heard is to attend the RSSI annual meeting. Every RSSI member is welcome to attend. For those with comments or complaints, the Board and the association president are there to listen. As most of you know, there are big changes on the horizon for railroad trade shows. In response to the North American Chief Engineers, AREMA, REMSA and RSSI will be gathering jointly in Minneapolis in 2011, only three years down the road. The Railway Supply Institute has decided to join them, promising to make this quite an occasion. I’m very optimistic about this gathering. We may not get everything perfect the first time we try it, but that doesn’t mean we should scrap everything. We can learn from any mistakes and move on. The key to the success of any such gathering is the support of the railroads. The suppliers have responded to their wishes and reduced the number of meetings. Now it’s up to the railroads to send lots of people to this gathering. For me, railroads sending people is a great idea. New people coming into the industry need to meet with the supply community. And this session gives track, c&s and mechanical folks a chance to mingle, something that doesn’t happen very often. Once again, I’m tipping my hat to the RSSI staff and all those who worked so hard to put this year’s successful meeting together. See you next year in Nashville, Tenn. George S. Sokulski Associate Publisher 48 Railway Track & Structures July 2008 www.rands.com http://www.rands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - July 2008 On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective Extending Service Life for Costly Special Trackwork Rail Welding Gets Act Together Premium Fasteners, Rail Steels Help Meet Strain of Heavy Haul

Railway Track & Structures - July 2008

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