Should ACE Merge with WEFTEC?

Now the dust has settled on AWWA’s ACE15 and with WEFTEC on the horizon there have been the usual grumblings from some exhibitors and sales reps that they wished ACE would merge with WEFTEC. The argument is ACE is getting weaker, losing out to a growing WEFTEC so it would be a lot more time and cost effective for all of us if there was just one combined conference. So is that the feeling of the majority of the industry or just a disgruntled segment, or a segment of a segment?

I don’t have quantitative data but from someone who has exhibited at every ACE since 2000 and been to about five WEFTECs in the past 10 years, here is what seems to have happened to the two conferences from a show floor perspective:

Numbers at ACE in San Diego appeared to plummet in 2009 when the recession hit and it seemed to me people had to start choosing between ACE and WEFTEC due to reduced budgets. WEFTEC won because more products are sold into wastewater, there are more wastewater practitioners due to water treatment systems being more consolidated than wastewater – plus wastewater always needs treatment while more 50% of water systems just ad chlorine, so the sales reps sell a lot more equipment into wastewater treatment.

There also seems to be a lot more specialty conferences compared to 10 years ago with AMTA and its regional affiliates growing with increased membrane use, interest in reuse conferences due to water scarcity, biosolids conferences, etc… Many manufacturers and reps are just ‘conferenced out’. The timing of ACE probably does not help coming just after the busy spring conference season and during the first week of school vaction for many (although that is good for the university research community). WEFTEC on the other hand is just after the summer vacation period after virtually no trade shows for a few months. Maybe that is why the atmosphere at WEFTEC is like a school reunion (or Frat party) while at ACE It is more like a church social.

So would the industry be better off taking the advice of the sales reps and some manufacturers and merging WEFTEC and ACE into a mega waterpalooza? I don’t think so. Those that are complaining are just hanging out at the exhibit hall and I am sure not attending any presentations, without which there wouldn’t be a conference. The presentations and workshops are what bring over half the attendees to ACE providing a forum for presenters to talk about their research and teach delegates about the latest developments in the industry. If there was a merging of conferences, here is what I think the negatives would be for the drinking water industry:

-          There would be a lot less opportunities for water research presentations (and wastewater also) where it would not be possible to accommodate combining the size of the existing two programs. With less presentations from the universities available, research funds may be cut (where researchers need to show where their work is being presented and published) and the students will get less exposure to the real world practitioners and future employers.

-          Many of the more technical papers will be forced to go to the specialty conferences which are not as well attended and therefore will get less exposure to the general industry.

-          The manufacturers that specialize in water treatment products would be lost amongst the mega-wastewater supplier booths and difficult to find by the water treatment delegates walking the floor.

-          There certainly won’t be the same number of delegates and booths with both conferences combined, so which organization is going to take a cut in revenue?? Or will the complaining reps and manufacturers be happy with a combined show that has twice the registration fee and booth fee to be revenue neutral?

I could go on and on but the bottom line is for the good of the water industry, for the promotion of research and to provide a networking forum for those who specialize in the drinking water industry, ACE should remain separate from WEFTEC. If less reps go to ACE and some more manufacturers decide to just go to WEFTEC, good riddance as they won’t be missed by those serious about the betterment of the industry.