Underground Construction - May 2019 - 34

Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition

UCT Grows Bigger in Texas
as 25-Year Milestone Nears
The Texas sun had barely set on a successful
2019 Underground Technology International
Conference & Exhibition (UCT) when
preparations began to for next year's silver
anniversary show.
As the first major industry event each year,
UCT marks the unofficial start of the spring
construction season and provides a gauge on
the year's outlook. Growing attendance, strong
vendor support and an upbeat tone at the
conference and exhibition signaled positive
expectations for the months ahead.
UCT, which is sponsored by Underground
Construction and Pipeline & Gas Journal magazines in collaboration with the Underground
Construction Technology Association (UCTA)

and the National Association of Sewer Service
Companies (NASSCO) plus 23 industry
associations and nine academic institutions,
drew more than 2,000 registrants as the event
returned to the Fort Worth Convention Center
venue. The area has proven so popular among
exhibitors and attendees that UCT has elected
to return to Fort Worth for its 25th anniversary year in January 2020.
"We are grateful to everyone who helped
make UCT such a success this year, and we are
especially excited by the positive response we
have already received during early preparations for next year's event," said Karen Francis,
convention director of UCT. "Our mission is
to contribute to the success and safety of our

industry, and the feedback we have received
from participants this year shows that we are
making strides toward this goal."
A survey conducted during the show drew
high marks from exhibitors and attendees,
including one who wrote: "Good mix of educational topics, exhibit hall provided opportunities for hands on info. The I&I seminar was
great, hopefully it can be included next year."
UCT ranked especially high on its selection
of keynote speakers, with a 100 percent
positive response rate. In the opening keynote,
Tom Kula of (NTMWD) addressed the "Future
of Water & Wastewater in North Texas. In the
next, Fiona Allen of TRA shared her outlook
for the industry in "Challenges & Trends
(as I See Them!)."

Educational programs
Industry professionals attended more than 80
educational sessions covering every aspect of
constructing, rehabilitating and maintaining
underground infrastructure during the threeday conference. Divided into 11 focused topic
tracks ranging from HDD operations and productivity to laterals rehabilitation, the sessions
offered attendees a broad selection of tutorials,
interactive presentations, panel discussions,
roundtables and in-depth case histories. The
educational format is unique among industry
conferences and is designed to be truly interactive, information sharing presentations.
Conference attendees gave the educational
program consistently high marks in a participant survey.
"I thought the educational sessions were a
fantastic learning experience and allowed me
to broaden my knowledge on a wide range of
topics," wrote one participant. Another noted
their scheduling around other UCT activities:
"I liked that the technical sessions were limited
in time so that you had an opportunity to visit
the exhibit hall, without the risk of missing a
technical session you wanted to see."
In addition to lecture and panel sessions,
one of the most popular educational forums
at UCT is the RehabZone, a hands-on, interactive exhibit that covers 10,000 square feet of

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Underground Construction - May 2019

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