Here we are again at the AFPM (aka NPRA) IPC conference in San Antonio, Texas. For more photos, click here for the AFPM interactive supplement: http://fmgstatic.ceros.com/icb/afpm/page/1
Recently in conferences Category
The Blog has selected a few photos from the official Picture Gallery on the EPCA website, taken at the EPCA Annual Conference in Budapest in October 2012.
Flying out of London Heathrow to any petchem industry event is like a works outing. It is the same 15 of us on the flight: ICIS, Shell, Noah's Ark, Gantrade, INEOS, Tecnon, Clarksons, IHS. Probably there are others I don't recognise.
The ICIS suite for EPCA is in the Sofitel, one of the main conference hotels, right next to the landmark Chain Bridge. From the plans, the suite looks spacious with a good view out over the Danube and up to Buda.
ICIS old Budapest hands have been regretting that we are not staying again at the Mafiosi-style hotel we used in 2010, with its bullet-proof glass, mirrored ceilings, helipad and "Pearl of the Danube" beauty pageant.
However, this time we have our own Hungarian member of staff on board, and are hopeful that this will lead to all sorts of benefits, as yet unknown.
The ICIS suite for EPCA is in the Sofitel, one of the main conference hotels, right next to the landmark Chain Bridge. From the plans, the suite looks spacious with a good view out over the Danube and up to Buda.
ICIS old Budapest hands have been regretting that we are not staying again at the Mafiosi-style hotel we used in 2010, with its bullet-proof glass, mirrored ceilings, helipad and "Pearl of the Danube" beauty pageant.
However, this time we have our own Hungarian member of staff on board, and are hopeful that this will lead to all sorts of benefits, as yet unknown.
Only 11 days to go, and the EPCA Annual Meeting 2012 looks like being easily as big as last year's event, with 2,486 delegates already signed up.
The official number, which the Blog has taken from the EPCA website today, will probably exceed the 2011 total of around 2,500.
The conference takes place in Budapest on 6-10 October, and the weather forecast for the second week of October is between 9 and 18 degrees C.
The annual meeting of EPCA, taking place in Budapest this year, already has 1,998 delegates signed up on the website on 19 July 2012. It looks well on track to surpass the all time record event in 2011, which had more than 2,500 registered delegates.
EPCA 2012 will take place on 6-10 October at three hotels: Intercontinental, Marriott and Sofitel.
The ICIS suite will be in the Sofitel Hotel.
Photos from the 7th ICIS World Phenol-Acetone Conference in Madrid.
1 Sponsored by CEPSA
2 Conference session
3 and 4 Panel discussion - see Julia's article on ICIS news
Tel Aviv will be the summer 2013 venue for EPL (European Petrochemical Luncheon), as reported in Sofia. Delegates received an email today from the EPL organisers, giving ample notice of the date as 20 June 2013, and soliciting responses by 1 July 2012.
Some bonus elements are offered. An organised tour to Jerusalem will be organised for the weekend after the EPL, and Gadiv will be sponsoring the EPL dinner on the Thursday evening.
Thanks to everyone at EPL in Sofia who asked why I
wasn't writing the Blog any more, and expressed regret when I explained that:
1) I have given it up and 2) I don't have the time and 3) I have a proper job
which takes up quite a lot of my time ...So here we are again, and the Sofia EPL on 13-15 June was really pretty good, with lots of sunshine after the dismal summer in northwest Europe, and everything was nice and cheap. From the hotel to the restaurants, coffees and taxis, everything was laughably inexpensive. I kept trying to pay for taxi fares with my 20 Lev note (10 GB pounds), but with typical fares of 3 Lev, taxi drivers kept refusing to take it. The service level everywhere was very high, with everyone charming and helpful, with good English and lots of smiles.
The flights were cheap but, unfortunately, some of those who came through Paris lost their luggage, and still had not had it back by the end of the EPL. The market mood was pretty bad too, and a number of aromatics traders were planning to join this week's ICIS Phenol Conference to look for ways into pastures new.
Most of our meetings were outside on the terrace, and there was time for a walk around the cobbled streets of the old city while most delegates were watching the Germany vs Netherlands match in the Euros on Wednesday evening.
The EPL dinner had a good turnout with 152 delegates, as you'd expect at a bargain €39 a head, and a perfectly short ten-minute speech about business in Bulgaria followed by some wild folk dancing featuring flags, flower garlands and some fetching pointy hats.
I spent my remaining lev (and stotinki) on some Bulgarian Delight (aka Turkish Delight) at the airport, which tastes like sweet rubber but seems pretty popular in the ICIS office.
Photos (the good ones are from Nel):
1 View of Sofia and mountains from hotel
2 EPL at the Hilton Hotel, Sofia
3 Meeting area on the hotel terrace
4 Sofia cathedral, Wednesday evening
5 EPL dinner entertainment, Thursday
1 View of lobby of Marriott Rivercenter Hotel
2 Meetings in the ICIS suite, Marriott
Riverwalk Hotel
3 AFPM General Session with Nigel Davis
Tuesday afternoon and the final day's AFPM meetings are still going strong in the lobbies of the Grand Hyatt and the Marriott Rivercenter. Outside it is another hot day, and delegates are leaving to drive back to Houston or take cabs to San Antonio airport.
News that two tornadoes have hit Dallas, Texas is spreading around the delegates and we hear that some home-going travelers are already stranded at San Antonio airport because all connecting flights through Dallas-Fort Worth have been cancelled.
The ICIS press team returns from the AFPM Luncheon to say that the speaker, former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates was very good. The final AFPM 2012 conference articles, on "Europe producers stand to lose in N America shale gale," and "Canada's NOVA studies building two PE plants" are filed. The computers, pricing reports, and banners are packed away. The coffee pots and floral decorations disappear, the Houston crew get in their cars, and now it's all over.
Click here for all 108 ICIS news articles from AFPM '12 ...
1 AFPM Opening Reception Sunday.
2 In the ICIS suite
3 AFPM President Charles Drevna
4 AFPM Opening Reception
5 Nigel Davis chairing General Session Monday
