10x10 All-In: perma at Noria's Reliable Plant 2025

Edited Transcript

Fred Rittenau:
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of perma POWERTALK. I’m your host, Fred Rittenau, a Regional Sales Manager here at perma USA. I’m here today with Jay Foster, one of our Business Development Managers, and we’re going to talk about the Reliable Plant show that took place in June.

Jay, welcome to the podcast.

Jay Foster:
Thanks for having me. Episode two. Let’s do it.

Fred:
Let’s do it. To kick things off, can you tell us a little about Reliable Plant as a whole? Then we’ll get into what our booth looked like and what the experience was like for the team.

Jay:
Absolutely. This year the event was put on by Noria, and it was our first year exhibiting with our own booth. Traditionally, we attended alongside other vendors or partners, so it was exciting to have a dedicated perma booth this time.

We had seven people in a 10-by-10 booth, so it was a little packed. We had two Regional Sales Managers, two Business Development Managers, marketing, our President and CEO and our VP of Sales. We needed everybody. It did not slow down.

Fred:
It definitely looked like a packed booth from the pictures I saw.

Jay:
The good news is we had such a strong show that we signed up for next year while we were still there. We’ll have a 10-by-20 booth, so we’ll have a lot more room to show everything and accommodate everyone.

Fred:
From the pictures on LinkedIn, it looked like there was a lot of traffic coming to the booth. What do you think the main attraction was?

Jay:
The setup was great. This year we were featuring our connected solutions, particularly around the STAR VARIO line. We had LoRa and the LoRa gateway, Bluetooth and some of our intrinsically safe solutions.

A lot of competitors, exhibitors and end users were familiar with perma products but weren’t necessarily aware of our newer innovations around connected and IoT-based solutions. It was exciting to show them.

Fred:
How are those conversations different from previous years? When I talk to customers in the field about these connected solutions, it seems like a light bulb goes off regarding the value of single-point lubricators.

Jay:
Absolutely. A lot of the discussion across the industry is around technology and data.

Previously, the conversation was often about moving from manual lubrication to an automated solution. Now, people also want visibility into the information coming back from the equipment.

We’re seeing that across vibration monitoring, condition monitoring, ultrasound and other technologies. Data is becoming increasingly important.

Our booth demonstrated that this is not just the traditional STAR VARIO or FLEX solution people may already know. We had a conveyor setup and perma CONNECT running live in the background.

Visitors could see a Bluetooth drive assigned to a specific pulley lubrication point and then see the associated information within the platform. It was a practical example that closely mirrors what end users are doing every day.

Fred:
That helps people experience the platform instead of simply hearing about it or seeing it on a flyer.

I also heard that Lane and Johannes gave a presentation. What was that session about?

Jay:
We were excited because it was our first year exhibiting with our own booth, but we also participated in the keynote and learning sessions.

Johannes and Lane presented a session called “Industrial Evolution and Plant Reliability: Embracing the Future of Connected and Condition-Based Lubrication.”

They walked through the evolution of single-point lubricators and included a real-world case study from an aggregate facility showing what had been proposed at an end-user site using actual application data.

The session was very well received. We were just starting to get attendee feedback, and one person said it was the best session they attended during the entire show.

It was a great opportunity to further showcase our solutions to a broader group.

Fred:
If you’re interested in hearing more about that session, we’ll also be sharing the presentation through our social channels and other perma content.

You mentioned connected drives, LoRa, Bluetooth and the perma CONNECT platform. There was also another announcement related to condition-based monitoring at Reliable Plant. Can you talk about that?

Jay:
Absolutely. It was great timing to introduce a new partnership at a maintenance and reliability show.

We launched a new product with UE Systems. Many people are familiar with their handheld ultrasound technology and their OnTrak condition-based lubrication solution.

Over the past year, we’ve worked together on a solution that incorporates our connected Bluetooth lubricator into their condition-monitoring platform.

Their system includes sensors monitoring ultrasound, vibration and temperature, along with a gateway and the connected perma drive.

The important distinction is that this moves beyond lubrication based solely on a predefined time interval.

The equipment can be baselined, and the sensors monitor changes in operating condition. Based on that data, the system can help determine when lubrication is required.

It’s a very interesting development from a technology standpoint and can provide a lot of value for the right application.

Fred:
Are there certain applications or industries where condition-based monitoring makes more sense than time-based lubrication?

Jay:
As with most engineering questions, it depends.

One important factor is asset criticality. If a particular piece of equipment goes down, does the entire plant go down?

You also want to consider hard-to-access areas and the infrastructure required for a more advanced condition-monitoring system.

Industries where we see potential include food and beverage, light and medium manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and pulp and paper.

Ultimately, it depends on the individual site and the specific problem the customer is trying to solve.

Fred:
It definitely seems like perma made a statement at the show. Were there other major topics people were discussing?

Jay:
AI was certainly one of the major topics, along with connected devices and using data in a way that benefits maintenance teams.

There were also a lot of wireless condition-monitoring companies. The trend is moving toward wireless technology, quick setup and faster access to feedback and information.

Fred:
It’s remarkable how much technology has become integrated into this industry. Ten years ago, most people probably wouldn’t have expected this level of connectivity at an individual lubrication point.

Jay:
Absolutely. Another interesting part of exhibiting was seeing how our partners and vendors are taking perma products to market.

We had lubricant partners at the event who develop specialized lubricants for particular applications and use perma systems as the delivery method.

We also saw condition-monitoring companies using products such as STAR CONTROL and connected solutions.

We’re proud of the technology we’re bringing to market, but we also recognize that our partners are creating innovative solutions by incorporating perma products into larger maintenance and reliability programs.

Fred:
What did you see from competitors in the lubrication space?

Jay:
There were some familiar competitors at the show. Reliable Plant is a smaller event with roughly 100 to 120 exhibitors, so we saw several companies operating in our space.

One thing that differentiated perma was the breadth of the portfolio. It wasn’t just time-based lubrication or one connected option. We were able to show Bluetooth, LoRa, intrinsically safe and EX solutions as well.

When you start looking at specialized applications, there’s a broad range of options available within the perma portfolio.

Fred:
For someone who has never attended Reliable Plant, what kinds of people and industries are represented?

Jay:
There are essentially three groups.

First are the speakers who lead the keynotes, workshops and learning sessions.

Second are the exhibitors, including companies like perma. The exhibit hall is open between sessions so attendees can explore technologies and talk directly with vendors.

We actually saw a noticeable increase in activity at our booth after Lane and Johannes presented because people wanted to see how the concepts from the presentation could apply at their own facilities.

The third group is the attendees themselves. These are the practitioners who work in maintenance and reliability every day.

More than 500 companies were represented. Attendees came from 47 states and around 30 countries, with all six inhabited continents represented.

It was a very diverse group across many different industries.

Fred:
That’s one of the things I enjoy about trade shows. Sometimes you meet someone who could really benefit from what we offer but simply hasn’t been introduced to perma yet.

It’s been great connecting with the contacts the team brought back from the event and seeing where we may be able to help.

What’s next? Will perma be back at Reliable Plant?

Jay:
Definitely. We’ve already signed up for the next event, which will be in the Reno-Tahoe area.

It will be a nice change of pace. I’ve been attending Reliable Plant since 2023 when it was in Orlando, and the following events were in the Chicago area.

We’ll also be attending other maintenance and reliability events and continuing to introduce new developments within our connected solutions portfolio.

Fred:
We better be careful or people are going to expect a new product announcement at every show.

But that’s a good problem to have.

We covered a lot about Reliable Plant. Thanks for giving us insight into the event from perma’s perspective and what people can expect if they attend in the future.

We also have an upcoming podcast planned with a guest from UE Systems to go deeper into the partnership Jay mentioned today, along with more guests and topics in future episodes.

Jay, thanks for joining us.

Jay:
Thanks for having me.

Fred:
Until the next perma POWERTALK.