Q1 2009 / Gulf Coast Conference

Despite the conference being delayed from its scheduled October 2008 dates by Hurricane Ike, and the current problems with the economy, the show was again an informative and interesting place to be. The attendance was down a small amount (about 10%), with about 1040 in attendance split 55/45 between Attendees and Exhibitors. There were over 120 individual booths including such companies as Agilent, Airgas, Alpha Omega, Ceodeux, Cosa, GE Analytical, GT Industries, Horiba, ISGAS, Mettler Toledo, OI Analytical, Parker Hannifin, Perkin Elmer, Proton Energy, SGD, Shimadzu, Supelco, Teledyne, Varian, and VICI Valco.

Over 140 papers and poster sessions were given including papers by Airgas (Calibration Gas Mixture Dew Point and Recipe Calculations), DCG Partnership (Alternative Method for Analysis of Methanol in Biodiesel), and Alpha Omega (High Speed Refinery Gas Analysis). In addition, Thermo Scientific held an Analysis Seminar where Bill Geiger of CONSCI gave a presentation on “Considerations Using ICP-MS as a Gas Chromatographic Detector.

For the 4^th year, a New Product Showcase session was held each day for 1½ hours where vendors could showcase their latest and newest advances in products, software and methods in a special area set up solely for this purpose. SGD exhibited their new Ultra Logic Changeover Manifold at this event.

On a more fun side, luncheons were held in the middle of the exhibit floor and were sponsored on the first day by PANalytical, and on the second day by Arnel, AmSpec, Premier Lab Supply, Petrolab, Lazar Scientific and Ed Martin & Associates. In addition, a good many of the local restaurants were back in business so it was again possible to get some good Texas style food, including our favorite – fried catfish. 

Should you wish to obtain more information about the Gulf Coast Conference and the complete list of papers presented please go to www.gulfcoastconference.com. The next show is scheduled for October 13^th and 14^th again at Moody Gardens on Galveston Island, Texas. We look forward to meeting you there. SGR