Wind is the talk of the town. It has become especially
relevant to the power transmission community where bearings,
gears, couplings, motors and gearboxes are providing the
equipment for this thriving alternative energy industry. It
comes as no surprise that the Windpower 2009 Conference
and Exhibition, arriving in Chicago from May 4–7, will
be the largest gathering of wind energy professionals and
technologies to date.
Exhibitors like Advanced Motors & Drives, Brad Foote
Gear Works, Comer Industries, Hansen Transmission, KTR
Corp., Moventas, NTN Bearing Corp., SKF, Timken and
WEG are just a few of the companies that will be on hand to
support the wind energy market.
Due to the enormous growth of both exhibitors and
attendees, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
had no choice but to move the conference from Minneapolis
to Chicago in 2009. There was simply not enough room to
support the growing number of interested participants, a nice
problem to have according to many of the exhibitors PTE
spoke with.

“Wind energy is the greatest growth industry in the
world, specifi cally in the United States,” says Todd Franiuk,
marketing specialist at NTN Bearing Corporation of America.
“To not be a part of this exhibition would be a mistake.”
Exhibiting at booth #3121, NTN is featuring main shaft,gearbox and generator application bearing displays. Franiuk
says NTN benefi ts from Windpower 2009 by receiving
greater name recognition and the ability to meet with potential
customers/clients they may not have had the chance to in the
past.
“With so many new companies fi nding their niche in
this market, the possibilities of fi nding new ways to use our
product to serve this market continue to grow. Exhibiting at
Windpower 2009 is a good way to meet and understand some
of this potential.” Franiuk says.
At booth #5138, Comer Industries will display its pitch
and yaw drives. The company’s range of planetary drives for
nacelles rotation and orientation as well as blade positioning
is suitable for wind generators up to 5 MW and more.
Arlin Perry, president at Comer, says the company is
currently supplying products to many of the market leaders
in the industry. Comer has exhibited at the Windpower
Conference in the past and fi nds it an excellent opportunity to
increase the awareness of its product lines.
“We see an increased focus in the United States with
tremendous growth potential as the U.S. government
embraces alternative energy as part of a new energy policy,”
Perry says.
Advanced Motors and Drives (AMD) will promote its
design, technology and manufacturing resources at booth
#1868 with a product line that includes yaw motors, pitch
motors and cable hoists.
“Windpower 2009 provides a cost-effective opportunity to
showcase our capabilities,” says Mike Arnold, sales engineer
at AMD. “At a time when some events show diminishing
returns for our investment, the growth and excitement
surrounding Windpower 2009 is refreshing.”
AMD, along with its sister operating companies within
Kinetek, will be developing products and solutions for a
variety of commercial and industrial markets, but will be
paying close attention to wind turbine manufacturers.

“Our strategic operating plans include signifi cant sales targets in the wind energy industry, and equally signifi cant
capital resources that we anticipate allocating toward meeting
our sales and manufacturing goals,” Arnold says. “Plus, we
are pleased that our new president has identifi ed wind energy
as a priority for his administration and our country.”
The Windpower conference was listed in Tradeshow
Week magazine as one of the 50 fastest growing shows magazine as one of the 50 fastest growing shows
in North America. It has been held previously in Chicago,
Houston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. The 2010 conference
is tentatively scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. This
year’s conference is returning to Chicago for the fi rst time
since 2004.
“We’re excited about coming back to Chicago,” said
AWEA executive director, Randy Swisher in a press release.
“The ‘windy city’ offers an ideal mix of hospitality and
exhibition facilities in a vibrant downtown setting. We are
grateful to offi cials in Chicago’s hospitality sector, as well
as the offi ce of Mayor Richard Daley for their efforts to
accommodate the show.”
Windpower 2009 will feature more than 300 speakers
and moderators, 150 poster presentation and 50 sessions on
wind energy topics focusing on policy, business and technical
subjects. More than 13,000 attendees and 776 exhibitors are
scheduled to participate in the conference. The theme of the
conference in 2009 is “Wind Power: Securing America’s
Energy Future.”

While the AWEA recognizes that organizing an event
of this size can ultimately result in negative impacts on the
environment, members are working each year to promote
green initiatives throughout the duration of the show. Some
of the highlights in 2009 include:
? Online registration and a digital brochure are
available to limit hard copy mailings.
? An online abstract submittal and review process
is in place for the conference programs.
? Conference badges and bags will be collected at
the end of the conference and recycled.
? A green travel program is in place for attendees
that want to reduce the environmental impact of
their air or car travel to the conference.
? Partnering with Community Energy, Inc. to
offset the energy use at McCormick Place.
? The exhibitor manual was provided online as well
as in CD-ROM format versus sending out hard
copy kits.
? Coordinating with the convention center
catering company to provide an environmentally
friendly disposable service for food as well as
plastic products.
? An onsite environmental survey will be incorporated
into the site selection process for future host cities.