OVC 2019

The Ohio Valley Chapter Event 2019

When the sun set on an absolutely spectacular day at The Kensington Golf Club in Canfield, Ohio last Thursday, the buzz at the reception wasn't just about golf. Sure there was talk about the longest drives, closest to the pins and eagles, but the main topic of this event was - education. It didn't matter whether you were at the Kensington Grille, in the Marriott conference room or on the course... if you were there, you were learning something!

In case you weren't at the Kensington Grille Wednesday evening, technical conversations flowed along with a favorite beverage.  Topics ranged from lubricants to capstans then to wire and tube drawing practices. (Yes, we had tube producers at a wire industry event.) With guest speakers - Gene Klein of Parkway Kew holding court at one end of the table and Richard Janosky of MRG Laboratories at the other end there was no way you couldn't learn something from these industry experts. This was the power of networking at its finest!

Thursday morning we had an excellent group at the seminar. As guest speaker Dan Sowry of the Ohio EPA mixed some stand-up with EPA regulations, attendees were clicking off their own checklists and taking notes on what needed to be done back at the plant. Following Dan was Gene Klein, who provided a more detailed purview of capstans and coatings. Something tells me that Gene will be busy answering questions for the next few weeks. Richard Janosky wrapped up the seminar with a thought provoking look at lubricants. Several attendees expressed an interest in attending the next wire or tube industry workshop at MRG Labs. I will be sure to share their announcement when it comes to be.

The education portion of the event didn't end in the conference room. Tim Sowry of Verichek provided a demonstration of Newton's 3rd law of motion - For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. For the par 3 eight hole appropriately named "The Boulder", Tim applied Newton's law by trying to advance his ball through the boulder instead of over it. His effort was applauded by the ladies in the group behind us and it was not lost on me why he told them his name was "Dave"!

With Newton's law aside, Vince Griffin of Premier Wire Die, Aaron Nolan of Worldwide Superabrasives, David Devine of Honda Locks and Joe Bundy of Hobart Brothers schooled the field with a blistering 11 under par (the next closest score was 5 under). This ridiculously low score was aided by an eagle shot from Joe Bundy. I seriously doubt that the Bekaert Boys or the Johnstown Sandbaggers would have been up for this challenge. Perhaps next year!

While OVC 2019 has come to a conclusion, golfers and non-golfers alike are already looking forward to OVC 2020. With that said, we are considering industry experts, guest speakers and anyone who thinks they can school the field like this year's winners. 

A special thanks to our guest speakers. If anyone would like a copy of their presentations or their contact information, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].