This years' BQCC banquet enjoyed a record turnout (over 300). It was a great opportunity to meet with many old friends. The new President Dan Morris and VP Dennis Hays were introduced and made short interesting  presentations. Ken Hendricks was scheduled to make a few comments but at the last minute had to cancel out. Tim Weeden, Director of Government Affairs for the Hendricks Development Group spoke in his place and directed his comments to Ken and Diane Hendricks who own the companies that make up the Hendricks Development Group. Glenna Schoerder, Secretary  and Treasurer of BQCC, and Richard Hergert were also at the head table. The speeches were kept short and interesting, the formal part of the program moving quickly and as a result the attendees did not get an opportunity to get restless.

The invited speaker, Laurie Wicks, President of Paperchine LLC,  made a presentation to update the group on  the progress made by Paperchine.  The presentation was very timely as many of the banquet attendees had a great interest in how Paperchine was doing particularly since they acquired the Beloit R & D facility in Illinois. Laurie Wicks made a PowerPoint  presentation that demonstrated how Paperchine was remodeling the facility to suit their needs. He reported that the building was much larger than they required and were investing in remodeling to make the location and building more attractive to potential new occupants. The building in addition to Paperchine is also home for the local MHI group. 

Laurie reported, "Paperchine is very healthy economically and is  looking forward to a strong 2004".  He also said their staff being well experienced in the paper industry and knowing the clients and their  machines were able to get the company up and running quickly and profitably. Due to their increasing work load, Paperchine are still hiring new employees at the rate of 1 to 2 per month."

The Banquet was served buffet style and was well organized and  serving moved quickly. The food was very good and plenty for everyone. From the great success of this years banquet it is very likely that next years' banquet will be a very popular event and people will have to get their reservation in early.

While at Beloit, Dan Morris invited me to take a tour of the new facility. It felt very comfortable being there. Many of the employees of both Paperchine and MHI are former Beloit employees. It was almost like coming home. In addition to cosmetic changes to the offices and working areas, most of the Beloit R&D machinery has been dismantled. The empty machine bays have a "spooky" feel to them. The walls of the hallways and offices of Paperchine have been newly covered in a pleasing cloth material and the carpets replaced. Although there is no doubt it's the same old R & D building. There is a noticeable difference. The whole place has that  distinct feel  of a successful company that is busy and knows where they are going.  

The following photos were taken by Luigi Bagnato. Due to the great number of people in the photos there will not be an attempt to name those in the pictures except for the speaker table.