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Dear PEI Member:

PEI members who exhibited at the recent UNITI Expo in Stuttgart, Germany, characterized the event as an excellent inaugural effort, according to a survey conducted by PEI last week. Of the 31 members surveyed, all but one of the respondents reported they were either very satisfied (54 percent) or satisfied (46 percent) with the Expo in terms of organization, quantity and quality of floor traffic, organization, and value.  

Expo organizers reported that total visits over the three show days by oil company guests exceeded 11,000. Approximately 35 percent of the online preregistered visitors were from outside Germany. 

In years past Automechanika—a huge international trade show staged in Frankfurt every two years—was considered the best place to go in Europe to see fuel retailing and handling equipment. PEI members who attended and/or exhibited at Automechanika over the years arrived at the mutual conclusion that an alternative was needed for the following reasons:

• The one hall devoted to service stations and refueling equipment was dwarfed by the nine other halls (and two dozen floors) of equipment that featured automotive parts and components, paint and body shop equipment, automotive electronics and systems, and car accessories and performance systems. While more than 147,000 visitors attended the five-day event, Automechanika charged visitors to attend and attracted a limited number of petroleum equipment buyers.
• Frankfurt is an expensive city in which to stay while Automechanika is going on, and accommodations near the exhibit hall are tough to find. I stayed 45 minutes away via subway during my last trip to Automechanika.
• Five full days—45 total hours—for  a trade show was too long.
• No workshops of interest to the petroleum equipment community were presented.

PEI-member exhibitors and others in the petroleum section voiced their concerns to Automechanika officials show after show. The European trade show giant did not heed the feedback from petroleum equipment exhibitors. As a result, the exhibiting companies—with help from other sectors of the industry—formed their own show: UNITI. In conversation with PEI members who exhibited in Stuttgart, as long as UNITI continues to serve the industry there is little reason for the petroleum equipment manufacturers to return to Automechanika.

UNITI Expo a Success

Dick Piatchek's 50th Anniversary

In Memorium: Gerry McKay

PEI and Industry News »

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Harvey Mackay said: “You learn when you listen. You earn when you listen – not just money, but respect.” The Automechanika/UNITI situation reinforced that sage advice for me. Some of Automechanika’s customers (exhibitors) complained. Nobody seemed to listen. The customers got fed up and left. They developed a better alternative themselves. My takeaways: Asking is good. Listening is critical. Understanding is key. And acting is imperative. 

BRIEFLY NOTED
Zoning officials from Shelton, Connecticut, have added facilities that grow or dispense medical marijuana to a list of uses not allowed by the town. These facilities join trailer parks, junkyards, concrete mixing plants and petroleum storage tanks larger than 10,000 gallons as prohibited uses. Nice company. 

APPOINTMENTS
IRPCO, LLC, Poca, West Virginia, has appointed Merthan Enterprises, Woodbury, Minnesota, to represent the company in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. Merthan will continue to represent IRPCO in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

MILESTONES
Dick Piatchek, Peiker/Piatchek Associates Inc., celebrated his 50^th year in the petroleum equipment industry this month. On June 14, 1964, Dick began his career in the industry as a district manager for Whiteway Mfg. Back in those days he sold equipment to Gene De Penaloza (St. Louis) and Fred Coffield (South Bend), two of PEI’s founding fathers. There aren’t too many people in our industry today who can claim that distinction. 

DEATHS
Gerald “Gerry” McKay, former president and owner of Keller Equipment Supply Ltd., headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, passed away peacefully on May 25 in Calgary. He was 73. Gerry started at Keller in 1978. He served Distributor District 9 on the PEI Board of Directors and will be remembered as the only board member allotted 25 minutes during a board dinner to perform a comedy routine. He was that funny and had the uncanny ability to put a smile on everyone’s face. Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Jane; two sons, Paul and Jason; a daughter, Barbra Carpay; and six grandchildren. 

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
California manufacturers representative. Boston-McDermott LLC, 770 Menlo Avenue, Suite 214, Menlo Park, California 94025, has applied for affiliate division membership. Patrick McDermott is president of the firm, which was established in 2013. The firm is an independent manufacturer’s representative operating in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Alaska. Sponsored for PEI membership by B. A. Scowley, ShldsHarpr, Martinez, CA. www.bostonmcdermott.com 
Lighting manufacturer. Jarvis Corporation, 2000 West Fulton Street, Suite F321, Chicago, Illinois 60612, has applied for manufacturer division membership. Kirby Corkill is president of the firm, which was established in 2002. The company manufactures LED lighting for commercial applications, including outdoor lighting for service station canopies. The equipment is sold through distributors. Sponsored for PEI membership by Cliff Corkill, GPER, Wheatridge, CO. www.jarvislights.com

ADMITTED TO PEI

• All-Tech Fuel Systems, Katy, TX (dis)

• Estabrook’s Inc., Essexville, MI (aff)

• California Maintenance & Environmental, Irwindale, CA (S&C)
• Driscoll’s Contracting Inc., Virginia Beach, VA (S&C)

 

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© 2014
Petroleum Equipment Institute
P. O. Box 2380
Tulsa, OK 74101-2380

The TulsaLetter (ISSN 0193-9467) is published two or three times each month by the Petroleum Equipment Institute. Robert N. Renkes, Executive Vice President, Editor. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the Editor. Basic circulation confined to PEI members.