September 6, 2019 - The Bluefield Coal Show opens on Wednesday next week and is the largest gathering of coal people in the nation this year. Thousands of members and supporters of the coal industry are again converging upon Bluefield September 11-13 with over 7,000 expected over the three days!

The coal show is once again sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias and this year’s show has a new general chairman, Bob Ramsey. Ramsey is president of Peters Equipment and Ramsey Industrials and was named the new chair of the coal show in October 2018.

Bob Ramsey

“It’s almost here after many hours of work by our volunteers,” said Ramsey. “We are very excited about the new items in the show this year and there is a lot of enthusiasm for the show amongst the many folks who work hard to make the show happen. We are anticipating an excellent turn out!” he said. Each year an industry leader speaks at the breakfast before opening the show.

“This year’s keynote speaker is Jimmy Brock, President and Chief Executive Officer, CONSOL Energy,” said Bill Reid, Chair of the Media & Exhibitors Breakfast, and Managing Editor, CoalZoom.com and Coalminerexchange.com. “We are very pleased to have such an eminent coal personality join us and everyone is looking forward to hearing his views on the future of our great industry.” Earlier this year, CONSOL announced plans to open the new Ittman metallurgical coal mine in Wyoming County, West Virginia in 2021.

Jimmy Brock

A new feature of the show are live TV interviews, which will take place on the opening day. “Exhibitors have been invited to apply for an interview and a panel is selecting them based on a new product or a significant contribution to the industry,” explained Bill Reid, who is also Chair of this project. “We want to give additional exposure to exhibitors while at the same time help to promote the coal industry.” The interviews will be streamed live and recorded on all chamber social media platforms and projected on large screens located throughout the show.

The 2017 show had 180 participating vendors, and the chamber has 192 signed up for this year’s show, according to Debbie Maynard, Vice-President of the chamber. There are 27 new exhibitors. The coal show continues to be a huge event for both the region and for the coal industry.

Bill Reid