September 11, 2019 - The Bluefield Coal Show opens today with the opening Breakfast at 8:30 am. Thousands of members of the coal industry have arrived in Bluefield with over 7,000 expected over the three days!

The show “A Coal Show for Coal People” is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias with a new general chairman, Bob Ramsey. Ramsey is president of Peters Equipment and Ramsey Industrial.

Bob Ramsey

“It’s now here after many hours of work by our great volunteers,” said Ramsey. “We are very excited about the new items in the show and there is great enthusiasm for the show amongst the many folks who work hard to make it all happen. People are arriving for the show in great numbers!” said Ramsey, who said that an industry leader is speaking at the breakfast and then opening the show.

“This year’s keynote speaker is Jimmy Brock, President and CEO, CONSOL Energy,” said Bill Reid, Chair of the newly named Media & Exhibitors’ Breakfast, and Managing Editor, CoalZoom.com and Coalminerexchange.com. “We are thrilled to have such an eminent and highly regarded coal personality join us and everyone is looking forward to hearing his views on the future of the global coal 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 this show are live TV interviews, which take place on the opening day today. “Exhibitors were invited to apply for an interview and a panel has selected them based on a new product or a significant contribution to the coal industry,” explained Bill Reid, who is also Chair of this project. “We want to give additional exposure to exhibitors while at the same time play our part to promote the coal industry.” The interviews are being 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 now has 197 signed up for this year’s show, according to Debbie Maynard, Vice-President of the chamber. There are 26 new exhibitors. The coal show continues to be a huge event for both the region and for the coal industry and is certainly the place to be this week!

Bill Reid