Tom Goeke knows how to clear a room. Quickly.
The CEO of machinery maker Milacron was a keynote speaker to help kick off the 31st Annual Blow Molding Conference in Pittsburgh Oct. 13.
And just as he was finishing up about 45 minutes of prepared remarkets — things are good for plastics, he said — the fire alarm at the Sheraton Station Square hotel went off.
“I've never had an ending like that,” Goeke said as the crowd started heading for the doors. “Amazing.”
“That was quite an exit,” he said. “That was great. That was like shut up and get off the stage,” he joked.
Despite his abrupt ending, the CEO was welcomed back to the stage after the hotel announced it was a false alarm.
The conference is organized by the Blow Molding Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers.