The Greatest Show for both New & Long time Energy Players
2019 marks 50th year for industry favorite event, Houston’s OTC – find out from a first timer what makes this event so special.
The first Offshore Technology Conference was held in 1969 with the hope of bringing together leading-edge technology for offshore drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. Fifty years later the conference celebrated its Golden Anniversary inviting over 2000 exhibitors from over 40 countries, and 61000+ attendees from 100+ countries.
Joel waiting for Oceaneering to give their onsite presentation on Freedom
At this year’s event, speakers focused on challenging ideas that centered around the industries changing landscape while exhibitors showcased the impact of technology and digitalization on the market.
For IPOZ, OTC has always served as a good place for learning what is really going on in the industry; especially since industry players strategically plan release new innovations to coincide with each year’s show.
At this year’s event, the IPOZ team had two first timers onsite to experience the massive scale of OTC. Joel Saxum, IPOZ General Manager and Eason Avant, IPOZ Development Engineer, share their perspective:
Drone Technology was everywhere!
As a first time show attendee, what was your overall first impression when you arrived at the show?
Joel: Lots of grand and expansive booths and a great mix of professionals from across the globe.
Eason: The same, but it was also a lot more diverse than I was expecting.
Eason testing onsite Demo’s at Librestream
What was the coolest thing you saw there?
Joel: Wearable tech from Librestream and Ultrasonic pig sensors from Clampon.
Eason: It’s a tie between the large drone with the thermal camera and methane leak detection system from Infrared Cameras and the augmented reality headset from Librestream.
As someone in your position and your field – what would you care about seeing more of in the industry?
Joel: More tech that is easily adaptable by and actually helpful to field personnel with a corporate backing behind it.
How did you feel at the end of the day?
Eason: Exhausted – and more knowledgeable about what was going on in the industry.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give another first comer for next year?
Joel: Bring a pocket sized notebook to jot down notes on all of things you want to follow up on.
Eason: Wear comfortable shoes, dress light, and definitely get an uber/lyft, or carpool.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give show exhibitors?
Joel: To ensure that you are actually reaching show attendees and getting your message out, have an interactive portion of your booth.
Eason: More demos of your product being used either in the real world or in a test environment. The best booths were clearly the more interactive exhibits. Last thing, better freebies! Give away stuff people will actually want to keep.