By CHARLES BOOTHE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — “There have been more customers today in the first hour than there were during the entire show in 2015,” said Scott Meade, with Phillips Machine Services, Thursday morning.
(Bluefield Daily Telegraph photo by Jessica Nuzzo)
Meade and B.J. Dickerson were with the company’s exhibit just outside the Bluefield Coal Show at the Brushfork Armory.
Phillips, based in Beckley, manufactures shuttle cars and rebuilds continuous miners.
“We have definitely seen a pickup in business, Dickerson said. “It’s a lot better (than in 2015).”
Both have attended several shows and agreed the atmosphere this year was a lot more positive and business brisker.
Other vendors agreed that business has been much better at the show this year.
For Jarrod Bailey with Highland Machinery, based in Oak Hill, the reason was apparent, and it started the day after the 2016 presidential election.
“People’s attitude changed overnight,” he said.
Bailey said calls for possible sales came in before the election, but no final decision. That all changed after the election as orders were finalized.
“People were waiting to see the outcome,” he said, adding that candidate Hillary Clinton was against coal while Donald Trump was a supporter of the industry.
In fact business has been so brisk this year the company, which manufactures shuttle cars, scoops, feeder breaks and personnel carriers, has hired 35 new employees, he said.
“This is my third show,” he said. “It was definitely doom and gloom in the industry the the last show. Now, there is a lot more positive attitude. Business has picked up.”
The change in attitude that many referred to related to the Trump Administration’s action on reducing environmental regulations that experts say have stifled the industry.
But the coal show is about more than just sales to Bailey.
“It’s a huge networking opportunity,” he said, adding that other vendors may have products his company needs.
It’s also a time to get to know other people in the business and work together.
That’s one of the perks of the show that pleases Jim Ball and Neil Sluss with Bradford Stuart Industries, based in Bland, Va.
The company distributes electrical equipment.
Ball said it’s a great time to meet people, do business and find customers as well as vendors.
“It’s been real good this year,” he said. “It’s’ been busy. We’ve talked to a lot of people.”
Ball said the show has picked back up, and that’s a good sign for the industry.
“We diversified into other industries,” he said. “But after Trump got elected in November, our business (related to coal mining) gradually picked up.”
Ball said he has been to many shows, and he was worried after 2015.
“If this show was like 2015, I think it would be the last,” he said.
Darren Jenkins, mining segment manager for Huntington based State Electric Supply Company, said his company supplies wiring and lighting equipment and supplies to the mining industry and has an office in Bluefield.
“I would say it’s refreshing to see people back in this industry and feel the energy,” he said. “Two years ago we were in a terrible downturn.”
Jenkins said business had been steady Thursday and he too sensed the resurgency in the industry.
“I am happy to be here,” he said, adding that he has been to many shows.
Jenkins also agreed the show is a great place to see old friends.
“I love it here,” he said. “You are part of the industry and see a lot of people.”
Many of those people are retired from the industry and return to the show, and talking to them is Jenkins’ favorite part.
“They are the ones who built this industry,” he said. “I am happy to see them.”
The 22nd biennial show, which had 195 exhibitors, wraps up today after starting Wednesday.
Contact Charles Boothe at [email protected].
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