The biennial ‘Coal Show For Coal People’ was the 16th of its kind and one that, according to chairman Charles Peters, was held amid a positive coal industry outlook.

“We are pleased that as this show takes place, we are experiencing an expanding industry with a positive outlook thanks to energy legislation and other positive factors in the marketplace.”

Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority executive director Charles Yates concurred. “The coal industry has been revitalised over the past months, which has helped to bolster our economy. The Bluefield Coal Show acts as a significant reminder of the critical role coal plays in our economy and in providing a stable energy source for Americans.”

While attendance totals are still being tallied, an estimated 6000 industry individuals descended upon the Brushfork Armory and Civic Center in the southern West Virginia town to see the latest and greatest in coal mining technology and innovation. Over 200 exhibitors from the US and abroad were on hand to showcase their newest equipment and services and answer questions from their coal colleagues.

Vendors were set up across nearly ever inch of the armoury property, both indoors and out, and the upward swing of the coal outlook was the talk of the week among all the participants. This feeling, though cautiously optimistic, was reflected in the many industry panel discussions held during the show.

“This market situation has really changed everything, and it really hasn’t settled down yet,” said Alpha Natural Resources chief Michael Quillan, noting that many of the company faces that were top coal owners even 20 years ago had also changed with the entrance and exit of privately-held companies. Today, he said, the industry was seeing an influx of public companies.

“Only 34% of the production in 1983 was public. Today, we have 67% production of the United States is public.”

With a public company came shareholders, and those shareholders were pushing for return on investment, he said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure going forward to perform and achieve results for shareholders.”

The coal outlook was only part of what could be gained from the show’s informational panel discussions; Norfolk Southern executive Danny Smith, who announced a major endeavour the company was taking on in hopes of significantly increasing coal loads, was enthusiastic as he spoke about a major NS rail car replacement.

By 2007, he said, the company would utilise cars that were 30% lighter when empty and have an increased capacity of 11%, reducing coal shipments by 200,000 carloads annually for the same amount of product.

Outside of the armoury’s conference room, the coal show buzzed with activity as many companies displayed or demonstrated the latest equipment available for all types of mining.

Illinois-based La Marche brought along its new A75M mine battery charger (SCR), which features completely automatic operation and a 140-amp, 240V DC output with a 750-850 battery amp-hour capacity.

Also present was Flexco demonstrating its Flexco Power Set Rivet Driver, which is said to be “designed to reduce operator fatigue [and] safely speed up the installation of Flexco SR belt fasteners”, while allowing more control and consistency for the user. Flexco was also available to speak to industry professionals about its other products, including its Mineline conveyor products.

Health and safety professionals were also present from organizations such as the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA), the National Institute of Safety & Health (NIOSH) and Norfolk Southern (NS) to distribute information to attendees and remind everyone about issues such as rail transportation safety, tire safety awareness, new miner training, and other safety ideas and tips for mine workers.

Attendees and exhibitors alike were happy with not only the state-of-the-art technology present at the show, but also the diversity of products and services being showcased and the organisation of the show itself. “It was a great show,” said one industry representative. “I am very happy with the response I have received,” said an exhibitor from Pennsylvania who was making his first trip to the show.

In the coming weeks, International Longwall News will continue to bring you highlights of the 2005 Bluefield Coal Show and showcase a few of the innovative products and services this premiere convention had to offer.