My co-workers laugh at me lately because I'm just a bit disappointed I'll be missing our Fluid Power Conference & Expo in Minnesota in June. The reason? I'll most likely just be home from the hospital with our newborn baby, getting used to having two little ones in the house. But this event is shaping up so wonderfully and in such an exciting location, it's difficult to be part of the planning process when I know I won't be there!
Still, though, it's fun to plan the event. We already have 12 exhibitors lined up and more are jumping at the opportunity to get one of the only 20 spots we have. This will be our second Expo of the year; our first event, co-located with WasteExpo in Las Vegas, is slated for May 1-3, just a few short weeks away.
Our keynote speaker will be joining us from Eaton Corp. Anthony J. Welter, Segment Director Construction and Mining at Eaton, will be discussing "Expanding the Boundaries of Power Management: Is Hydraulics the Next Game Changer?" And a tour of University of Minnesota's Eolos Wind Research Station will be offered on Wednesday morning.
Rounding out the fact that University of Minnesota and the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to a number of great fluid power companies and research facilities, such as the Center for Compact & Efficient Fluid Power, I can only imagine what other great topics we'll have on board as we get closer to nailing down the schedule.
So while I really don't think I'll be missing anything as I enjoy the new marvel of our newborn baby boy or girl, I'll still be thinking of my colleagues and everyone else that week, taking advantage of great education and technical know-how.