Whenever an opportunity to meet a presenter of an IBEX education seminar comes along, I grab it. Besides being a fun way to meet new people, it’s how I keep up with developments in and beyond the marine industry.
So it went with Steve Savoie, whom I met during a business trip he made to Rhode Island, where I’m based. Savoie, whose background includes a degree in naval engineering from Purdue University and two decades in the U.S. Coast 
Guard, works for Lyman-Morse Technologies on thermoplastic composites process development (His seminar, 503, is called Temperature Controllers and Thermocouples 101.)
Steve Savoie says that this sample thermoplastics part, which colleagues call the “golf ball tray,” is created thanks to thermocouples and a good temperature controller. The technologies division of Maine boatbuilder Lyman-Morse is fabricating aluminum tooling to support its research into thermoplastic composites process development. Credit: Elaine Lembo
He’s also a past attendee at IBEX, so I asked him a few questions.
Q: What’s the value of attending IBEX? What do you most look forward to at the show?
SS: At IBEX, I look forward to developing future sales contacts, finding out about new emerging technologies that have been adapted to marine uses, and networking.
Q: Why do you participate in the education seminars and why do you think others should, too?
SS: We all improve by sharing knowledge in this industry. It’s kind of a group synergy. As for me, it gets my name out and gives me a chance to develop new manufacturing processes and adapt them to the marine industry.
Q: What changes do you foresee in the boatbuilding industry in the next decade?
SS: I think the cost of advanced materials will continue to drop and the processing parameters will be opened up and more user friendly.
Click here for a complete list of the IBEX 2015 education seminars.
—Elaine Lembo
Education Seminar Manager
