Attendance, Participation Up at 2009 PEI Convention [1]
Submitted by jessica on
Overall attendance for the 2009 PEI Convention showed an increase of more than 6 percent over 2008. The association's 59th annual convention held on October 20-23, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention was held in conjunction with the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) annual tradeshow.
Education sessions at the convention were standing-room only and covered a broad range of industry topics, including PCI compliance, alternative fuels, Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), mid-grade ethanol blends, business valuation and asset protection. The petroleum portion of the exposition of the NACS tradeshow included more than 197 petroleum equipment related exhibitors in 501 booths.
Other highlights from the convention include the election of 2010 officers. Peter Ward, president of Glasgow Equipment Service, Inc., West Palm Beach, Florida, was elected president. Dennis Rethmeier, president of Western Pump, Inc., San Diego, California, was elected vice president and Joey Cheek, president of JMP Solutions, Inc., Tampa, Florida, was appointed treasurer by the PEI Board of Directors.
Addressing PEI members at the Membership Meeting, Robert Renkes, Executive Vice President of the organization, expressed optimism in the immediate future of the petroleum equipment industry and presented a positive overview of 2008 for PEI member companies. “2008 was a good year industry-wide,” Renkes said, citing an economic survey of PEI members that showed a prosperous 2008, despite the poor nation wide economic climate.
“We are experiencing, without question, the worst recession since the Great Depression,” Renkes said to the meeting of more than 300 members. “We have survived it, and in some cases flourished in spite of it. With what we know today, there will be plenty of opportunity for PEI members to build on the success of the last several years.”
The PEI Convention at NACS Show 2010 will be held in Atlanta, Georgia on October 5-8, 2010.
Founded in 1951, PEI is comprised of more than 1,600 companies engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of equipment used in petroleum marketing and related operations. Members are located in 50 states and 81 countries. PEI is the international trade association for distributors, manufacturers and installers of equipment used in petroleum-marketing and liquid-handling operations. Users of the equipment include service station and convenience-store owners, terminals, bulk plants and airport refueling operations. The Institute's headquarters are located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For additional information on PEI or its membership, please contact Chris Bouldin at cbouldin@pei.org or visit www.pei.org.