This year was my 10th year attending ECR. In many ways, was a high-water mark.

It seemed to me that there were more people at the show. In past years, many of the people have been from western Europe, but this year there seemed to be many more international people.

There seemed to be much more interest in alternative service than in years gone by and I have the impression that there is a lot of pent-up demand for equipment and that demand is now turning into sales. Even though people were worried about the economic conditions around the world, the need for new product is outweighing the concerns.

Regarding concerns, on a different level, I found it interesting how the Europeans look at what is happening in Crimea. They have a totally different view than we do here in the U.S. and I suppose that makes sense since the issue is literally closer to home for them.

As always, Vienna is a beautiful city with a lot of great restaurants. It is an easy town to walk around in with a great public transportation system. This year, the weather cooperated and most people did not wear overcoats.

For more on this year's ECR, my good friend, Michael Friebe, the serial entrepreneur, inventor and university professor, has shared his thoughts with us as well and you can read the piece he wrote for us by clicking here.