The Production Engine Remanufacturers Association (PERA) has been in Louisville, KY this past week for its 69th Annual PERA Conference where it welcomed incoming president Frank Owings of Titan Engines. Owings replaces outgoing president Robert McGraw of AER Manufacturing.

As the incoming president of PERA, Owings realizes he has big shoes to fill. “I follow an incredible group of guys like Steine (from Tri Star Engine Supply), Weinzapfel (from Jasper Engine & Transmission Exchange) and McGraw (from AER Manufacturing),” he says. “Sometimes I feel like I’m walking up to the tee following Tiger Woods. These guys are phenomenal and they work for phenomenal companies.”

Providing value to the association is one of Owings’ key priorities. From helping parallel AERA and PERA, to providing more quality and available assets for the association, such as freight and logistic issues, insurance issues and pollution regulations, Owings is looking to provide quality and understanding for PERA members.

At the top of that list is ongoing education and the desire to attract younger generations.

Despite both positives and negatives seen in the future of the industry, Owings remains extremely positive about the direction PERA and the industry are heading.

“I think the industry is going to slowly explode,” he says. “We have rearranged and reinvented ourselves and have kept going, and we will keep going.”

For more coverage from the PERA Conference, see the October issue of Engine Builder magazine.