ACE Gets its Mojo Back in 2013

2013 AWWA Annual Conference & Exposition in Denver a Return to Good Old Days

I know I am not alone in saying that over the last 4 or 5 years the AWWA Annual Conference and

Exposition has been slipping in attendance and overall energy compared to WEFTEC which seems to have benefited from attendees having to make a choice between the two conferences in tougher economic times. I know sales reps and some manufacturers have for many years wished that both conferences be combined to avoid the expense and time of having to attend both and the economic downturn of 2008 was a trigger to select one to attend. The choice has usually been WEFTEC which has more of a wastewater focus where a larger percentage of water industry equipment sales are made. Well, after the renewed energy, increased attendance and overall buzz of ACE13 in Denver, I think talks of a merger will be put to rest for at least a few more years.

As one of the exhibitors who are an important source of funding for ACE, I was very happy with the increased flow of attendees through the exhibit hall this year. The increased traffic was apparent on Sunday which in recent years has been dead, with more families in particular walking the floors (that attendees had brought on vacation) - I can't remember so many families for perhaps 6-8 years. And on Wednesday, the last day of the show and traditionally the slowest, I was busy talking to people at the booth all morning. I didn't get to see a single presentation as I was so busy at the booth and at meetings during the show.

Why was this ACE probably the best since ACE08 in Atlanta? Being in AWWA's home town of Denver, the organization certainly put in an extra special effort in revamping the schedule and events and in pre-show marketing. It was about time that some effort was put in to updating the program as I do think it had stagnated in recent years and lost ground to WEFTEC. I believe Denver's more central location, affordability and attractiveness as a destination for a larger spread of AWWA members also was a factor in the sucess of ACE13. Perhaps also it is a sign of improving economic conditions - I certainly heard of more new projects in the works compared to recent years.

Should ACE and WEFTEC merge? I can see the point of view of sales reps and the larger manufacturers who have to role out the marketing, booths, client entertainment and all the other expenses required for two shows that may have a big overlap in their customers. As a smaller manufacturer of primarily drinking water treatment equipment we can still get pretty good exposure at the ACE exposition which is located in a single exhibit hall, while I wonder if anyone would find us tucked away at the back of a secondary hall at WEFTEC? We certainly would have trouble competing for some time with our customers and sales reps versus the lavish functions put on by the larger multi-national OEMs (heck, I didn't even see some of our reps at ACE...). And I am sure there would be less room in the technical program for potable presentations which would impact engineers, utilities and researchers focussing on just drinking water. I therefore think the two shows should not merge to allow the smaller specialty OEMs and engineering firms as well as researchers have a say in the water industry rather than be made insignificant at a mega-water show.

Can AWWA generate some momentum from ACE13? I don't know. AWWA certainly needs to continue to review the conference program, get feedback from exhibitors and attendees and continually improve for ACE14. ACE14 in Boston will be a challenge being in an expensive city on the far east coast. My suggestion is AWWA should look at WEFTEC which has selected a limited number of locations that are popular for a wider range of attendees. Certainly, ACE should be in Denver every 5 years at least based on the success of ACE13!