The New England Chapter, Society of Explosives Engineers (NESEE) held its 25th annual equipment show on October 20th at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlboro, Mass.
It was a stylish event, as hosts and hostesses of the chapter dressed in formal attire welcomed more than 500 visitors to the only show in New England dedicated to drilling and blasting. EXPO 2006 attracted drilling and blasting contractors, general contractors, consulting firms, and blasting industry regulators who had come to learn about the newest techniques, supplies and equipment now available to the explosives industry.
NESEE changed the venue of its show to the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center this year to accommodate the ever-increasing number of visitors and vendors participating in the event.
Included in the $30.00 admission ticket were seminars, exhibits, raffles with prizes donated by the exhibitors, and a buffet lunch. Manufacturers' representatives and dealers of equipment from New England and the states of Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia, as well as Canada, were on hand to discuss their products. They displayed literature on explosives and larger equipment such as track drills, compressors, magazines, generators, and blasting mats, as well as such items as blast initiators, tools, drill steel, and seismic instruments, among others.
Also exhibiting were representatives of seismic consultants, insurance firms, blasting consultants, and government agencies concerned with explosives safety. In addition, seminars conducted by industry experts were held throughout the day in the facility's large amphitheatre.
NESEE, founded in Hudson, Mass., in 1970 as the New England Blasting Association, became the American Blasting Association in 1979, and joined the International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE) as its New England Chapter in 1980. It is one of the oldest and largest chapters of the ISEE. The chapter's 175 members represent drilling and blasting contractors, vendors, and regulatory agency personnel and others with an interest in this specialized sector of the construction industry.
The association promotes and provides technical education programs, discussions of regulations, safety issues, and meetings to address local concerns. It also offers educational scholarships to students attending technical schools or universities, sponsors technical and non-technical meetings, and holds a golf tournament and the EXPO.
Proceeds from the golf tournament are applied to the chapter's Scholarship Fund. In January, the group holds a Past President's Meeting at which they present up to three college scholarships worth $500, $1,000 and $1,500 to members' relatives.
Chapter officers include David Weidner, Vibra-Tech; Vice President David Beckwith, Dyno Nobel; Clerk Sandra Penttinen, Penttinen Associates; Treasurer Mark Pandiscio, Atlantic Blasting Co. Inc.; and immediate past president Robert Jaksina, Saunders Drilling & Blasting. Terri Barton has been office administrator for the group since 1974. For more information on NESEE, visit the website at www.nesee.org or call Terri Barton at (978) 562-6211 or e-mail [email protected].
