Chamber executive president Debbie Maynard told ILN the biennial three-day show, which wrapped Friday afternoon in southern West Virginia, saw more than 6500 guests come through the doors of the Brushwork Armory-Civic Center.

Including those companies which opted to combine their booths, the event had more than 232 registered exhibitors, many of which were on a waiting list for space.

Several new products were launched or introduced at the show and many of the industry’s largest OEMs – Joy, Bucyrus, Fairchild and Terex, to name a few – all brought the latest in their equipment offerings.

A keynote speech by National Mining Association president Hal Quinn on The New Political Landscape for Coal kicked off the event at an opening day breakfast and set the tone for a packed afternoon of technical presentations on Thursday before a full crowd.

The proposed Waxman-Markey legislation that is making its way through the US government was not far from anyone’s minds, from Quinn’s remarks on coal’s future to efforts by the Bluefield Chamber and the NMA, who joined together for a special campaign at the A Voice for Coal show.

The Voice online and written campaign to promote and show support for Appalachian coal and responsible climate change regulations was a clear success, Maynard noted, the results of which will ultimately end up in the hands of regulatory bodies in Washington responsible for passing or amending the proposed bill.

“The first day for the special NMA's website more than 1000 letters were submitted – by the end of the show, approximately 5000 total,” she said, noting that it was greatly helped by both exhibitor promotion as well as volunteers who collected information cards from attendees.

With such high demand and interest in the show, chamber officials ran into one obstacle: parking, including improved logistics for getting the larger exhibitors onsite earlier. BCC general chairman Charles Peters said the issue would be addressed at the 2011 show to allow for more fluid entrances by guests and vendors.

While many Appalachian mines have been hit hard with redundancies, closures and production slowdowns, Maynard said the region’s industry had not lost its vigor – she has received many requests from vendors both at the show and by e-mail to request space, and more of it, for 2011.

Many are already making their reservations for the next event, which the BCC has scheduled for September 14-16 at the traditional location.

In the meantime, plans are well underway for the 2010 Bluefield Coal Symposium, which alternates with the coal show. While the dates are still being sorted out, Maynard said many people had shown interest and details would be made available soon.