HUNTINGTON -- Leaders in the coal preparation industry are calling for an expanding market and better technology in the future.

Industries and suppliers involved in coal preparation met Wednesday in Huntington for the first Coal Quality Expo at Big Sandy Superstore Arena. The event concludes today.

Environmental regulations have increased demand for equipment and boosted companies that supply coal companies.

The rising cost of natural gas and the large push in West Virginia to establish coal liquification plants to make fuel from coal will increase demand for coal, said Galand Davis, senior applications engineer for Excel Crusher Technologies, which supplies coal crushing technology.

"It is going to blossom and expand," Davis said. "People are working to make gas and ethanol from coal."

Local companies that supply equipment to coal preparatory facilities have seen the coal industry surge in recent years. Service Pump and Supply of Huntington has grown from two employees in 1980 to 30 employees throughout three locations, said Monty Fulton, coal prep sales manager for the company.

The company supplies pumps to the coal industry. It has tripled its mining equipment business since 2000, Fulton said. Within another five years, Service Pump and Supply may open a fourth branch.

"Companies are mining more coal and employing more people," Fulton said.

Mining Media, which publishes Coal Age Magazine, chose Huntington to host the event because of the abundance of coal prep plants in the region.

According to Coal Age Magazine, more than 75 percent of the U.S. coal prep plants are located within 200 miles of Huntington.