2018 WJTA-IMCA Expo Recap

The WaterJet Technology Association (WJTA) welcomed 1,000 high level participants from 33 countries to the 2018 WJTA-IMCA Expo held November 1-2 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Eighty-six exhibiting companies displayed an impressive range of equipment and services – high pressure pumps and robotic tools for industrial cleaning and surface preparation; industrial vacuum trucks, hydro-excavators and combo units; tank cleaning pumps and robotics; sewer cleaning and inspection; advanced wireless controls and automation; manual waterblast tools and equipment; parts and ancillary supplies; and industrial service contractors offering a variety of services, including pigging/decoking and catalyst services.

The Boot Camp featured sessions on personal protective equipment, next generation hydrodemolition systems, bonding and grounding in mobile applications, hands-free hydroblasting from an asset owner’s perspective, ultrasonic cleaning, how automation is impacting the workforce, using automation in non-standard setups, and a review of recent updates to the WJTA’s vacuum equipment recommended practices.

Kerry Siggins, StoneAge, Inc., shared with participants the latest information on the development of basic global safety standards to promote, educate and ultimately require safe waterblasting practices worldwide.

The live demonstrations were delayed by severe weather for a few hours on Thursday, November 1, but one of the largest crowds ever was on hand Thursday afternoon to see new pumps, robotic shotgunning systems, heat exchanger cleaning, industrial vacuum trucks and hands-free robotic vacuuming, automated indexing of tube bundles, and coating removal and surface preparation.

WJTA will return to New Orleans, November 11-13, 2019, for the biennial WJTA Conference and Expo. The 2019 program will include the daylong Waterjet Technology Basics & Beyond Short Course, technical research paper and case study presentations, exhibit displays of the newest products, systems, trucks and services, and live demonstrations.

View details and photos from the 2018 Expo on the conference/expo website: 2018 Expo Recap .