The 37th Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique took place Feb. 6-9 at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego. Nearly 1,500 attended the event, which had an international flavor with 49 countries being represented. Blasters, drillers, manufacturers and suppliers, and government agencies got together to conduct business and share new technologies, best practices and other industry advancements.

More than 100 exhibitors were on hand, and the drilling industry made a strong showing, which was especially heartening.

There was plenty to learn, as more than 70 presentations covered the entire gamut of industry-related topics, including blasting, drilling, safety, vibration issues and case histories.

A nice touch to the show was the “Blasters Weekend Package,” which provided a condensed schedule, allowing participants the opportunity to get in a lot of the sessions and activities, and still get back to work on Monday.

The 38th edition of the conference takes place Feb, 12-15, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn., smartly avoiding competition for people’s attention on Super Bowl Sunday. The drilling-related aspects of the conference are on the rise, and we look forward to the continuation of that trend, as drilling contractors continue to widen their horizons through diversification.
ND