05/28/2025
The Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference is announcing the first of its confirmed speakers for the Kansas City event this fall. Experts from 3M, ALPLA, the Compressed Air & Gas Institute, the Cooling Technology Institute, Gem City Plastic Machinery, Wasmer, Hoffman & Lamson, Revindus, Integrated Services Group and Oak Ridge National Lab will present at the show in Kansas City, Oct. 21-23, 2025. Stay tuned for future speaker announcements.
Speakers confirmed for Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference in Kansas City.
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Ryan Schmidt, Mechanical Engineering Specialist, Chilled Water and Compressed Air Systems Specialist, 3M Company
Presenting: Energy Savings via Compressor Lift Reduction – 1,000,000 kWh Annual Energy Savings – Three Examples
Explore three ongoing projects, each associated with 1,000,000 kWh in annual energy savings, that represent strategies that can be applied to a wide range of industrial compressed air and cooling systems. The projects include: using an integrated systems approach in consolidated process cooling system design, replacement of a plant air compressor with a process-specific low-pressure air compressor without sacrificing firm capacity and applying a variable-speed base load chiller to bolster efficiency in a legacy chiller plant.
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Roger Schmitt, Sales Engineer/Territory Manager, Gem City Plastic Machinery
Presenting: Energy & Water Conservation in the Plastics Industry
Learn about the various components used in the plastics industry that consume energy and water, and how to improve on saving utility usage. The presentation will touch on how savings of energy and water can be achieved through electrical and hydro modifications, discuss eliminating city water usage via process cooling, chilled water systems and explore new technologies in refrigeration components and their impact on energy savings.
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Juan Espindola, CEM, Facility Optimization Engineer, Wasmer
Presenting: Kirsh Foundry Case study of a Compressed Air System with Nitrogen Generation
Kirsh Foundry in Wisconsin had a system with two air compressors for the plant and was planning to purchase a third air compressor for the new nitrogen generation system, but a comprehensive study revealed there were issues with pipping and the controls of the system. The study showed the system could run with only two air compressors instead of three to run both the plant and the nitrogen generation system. The implementation cost of this project was \$74,676 and resulted in \$58,181 in energy savings, making the payback period 1.28 years.
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Monte Hackwith, Infrastructure Specialist, ALPLA North America
Presenting: Water and Chemical Conservation in Process Loops (Process Loss Warnings)
Using water treatment controllers at ALPLA NOAM plants, the causes of large water losses in the cooling circuits of the molds were often unknown, which led to increased fees and downtime. As a solution, digital, internet-connected, pulse-output water meters were installed on the supply and withdrawal water lines, making it possible to determine which losses were caused by mold growth, leaks or tank overflows. This resulted in 16 of 22 monitored systems significantly reducing their water consumption and the savings from eliminating the need for chemicals to treat the 970 cubic meters of water saved over $80,000.
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Bob Kisler, Sales Manager, Hoffman & Lamson
Presenting: Most Open Valve
In order to maintain an aerobic biological process, it’s necessary to maintain the appropriate dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the basin. Inadequate DO can result in poor treatment, but excess DO wastes energy without improving treatment. Control of the DO concentration is generally the most cost effective method of optimizing aeration energy. A properly operating DO and aeration control system can save 25-40% of the energy used by manually controlled systems.
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Mustafa Uslu, General Manager, Revindus
Presenting: Flow Measurement Techniques and Performance Verification Program
This presentation will analyze the various flow measurement techniques used for verifying sir compressor performance. It will also explore the rationale behind the selection of the “Sonic Nozzle” flow meter by the CAGI Intertek lab and the portable applications employed for on-site CAGI-Wise verification.
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Matt Smith, President, Compressed Air & Gas Institute
Presenting: News & Updates From CAGI
The President of the Compressed Air & Gas Institute will provide an update and share the association’s latest news. Matt Smith is also Vice President CAS Sales at Mikropor America.
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Jim Baker, President, Cooling Technology Institute
Presenting: News & Updates From CTI
The President of the Cooling Technology Institute will provide an update and share the association’s latest news. Jim Baker is also Cooling Tower Representative for North and South America at Galebreaker.
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Clayton Penhallegon, Jr., Principal Engineer, Integrated Services Group
Presenting: Maximizing Chiller Efficiency: It’s Not Just About the Chiller!
Explore chiller design efficiency capability and selection criteria when ordering new machines, as well as how the operation of the rest of the system (cooling towers, pumping, etc.) affects the delivered chiller performance.
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Alex Botts, R&D Associate, Oak Ridge National Lab
Presenting: Powering Plant Efficiency: DOE’s Free MEASUR Software and Better Plants Program
Learn how MEASUR’s tools support system assessments and performance optimization, making it easier to justify and prioritize improvements. Hear how the Better Plants Program offers resources, workforce development opportunities and technical assistance to help companies set and meet energy reduction goals. Whether you're conducting audits, making efficiency recommendations or managing plant operations, you'll leave with actionable strategies and tools to drive real results.
Attendees can earn 12 PDH credits
Click here to register.
About Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference
The Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference is the leading North American event focused on sustainable, safe and reliable on-site utilities powering automation. The event takes place Oct. 21-23, 2025, at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, MO. Attendees come from engineering firms, manufacturing plants and equipment companies responsible for specifying, purchasing, operating, selling and maintaining on-site utility equipment in industrial compressed air, vacuum and cooling water systems. For more information, visit https://cabpexpo.com/attend.
