From April 7th through the 9th, more than 100 users of New River Kinematics’ SpatialAnalyzer came together to discuss the ways they use the product, as well as ask questions and make suggestions.

“I thought it would be a great idea to get some of our users together, and our initial goal was about 50 of our customers,” said Paul Collins, COO of New River Kinematics. “So we were thrilled with the turnout.”

The 2008 conference, held in the world-class resort of Kingsmill on the James in Williamsburg, Virginia, was attended by users from around the world. Engineers from Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, and England were present.

Presentations included where SpatialAnalyzer is today and will be in the future. Breakout sessions for attendees covered GD&T, USMN, Measurement Planning and Instrument Interfaces.

Collins said the purpose of the conference was three-fold. “We wanted to listen to customers, have a forum for networking between users, and find out the many different ways that people are using SA and its applications.”

The first night kicked off the conference with a networking reception where SA users from several industries and various parts of the world came together.

The second full day of the conference concentrated on listening to users through formal and informal presentations of how they use SA. A question and answer session with NRK founders Joe Calkins and Bob Salerno yielded very specific answers about the software.

It wasn’t all business though; beer and barbeque, a Southern tradition, was followed by night golf on the Bray Course at Kingsmill, one of the top-rated resorts for golf in the country.

Calkins said, “We got great feedback for product enhancements, and I was glad to see all the people who made the effort to come. Customer feedback has made SA what it is today!”