ANNUAL REPORTS

 

IWMA CHAIRMANS REPORT 2007/2008

The past year has been my third and final one as Chairman, and the busiest one so far.  I would like to start by thanking all my colleagues on the Executive Board for their continued and invaluable advice and all the hard work they put in last year.

The first event of 2007 was something of an experiment in the form of a technical symposium in Dubai. This was very successful and was enthusiastically received by the wire and cable industry in the Gulf States.

We then moved on to the Interwire show at its new home in Cleveland, and this proved to be a successful event for the WAI.  This was followed all too quickly by wire Russia in Moscow, which has grown yet again and emphasises the growth in the Russian market.

Another first in 2007 was wire Southeast Asia in Bangkok.  This exhibition had been held for many years in Singapore, but many of us felt that relocating to Bangkok would give much wider access to the ever-growing South-East Asian market.  This certainly proved to be the case, and the exhibition was a great success.  The facilities in Bangkok were excellent and many exhibitors reported much increased interest.

We finished the year in Bologna for another successful conference – the third that we have held in cooperation with the WAI of the United States and ACIMAF of Italy.

Looking forward, we have “wire 08” in Düsseldorf, which is, of course, the largest trade fair of its kind in the world.  It has expanded yet again with an increase in the number of exhibitors.  The IWMA will have excellent facilities for our members and we hope to welcome as many of you as possible to the IWMA stand.

I would like to finish as I started, with thanks this time to the IWMA staff, Phillip Knight, Debi Coleman and Jacqui Dickinson, who have put in a lot of hard work this year and been a great help to me personally.

I would also like to wish Steve Wood, my successor as Chairman, every success and hope he enjoys the role as much as I have.

Peter Large - CHAIRMAN
IWMA
6 February 2008

Technical Sub Committee (TSC) Report 2006 - 2007

Once again I report on the work undertaken by members of the TSC during the last twelve months. As indicated in my last report in February 2007 we had three conferences to plan in the year. Firstly, the Dubai Cable Symposium in March, which was a stand-alone one-day event that, according to feedback from speakers and delegates, was a successful operation. It was the first of its kind and the comments were so positive I am convinced that a future similar but greatly extended event will be requested.

Secondly, we co-organised with the International Tube Association the Non Ferrous Bangkok seminar, which ran concurrently with the wire Southeast Asia 2007 exhibition. It was a complete success with the Associations, speakers and delegates very satisfied with its organisation and presentation. Again I believe that this type of event will be repeated in the future, although all parties are of the opinion that it should be held immediately prior to the exhibition thus avoiding any conflict of interest for delegates.

Thirdly, Wire 07 Bologna took place in November 2007. A two-day event that also included tabletop exhibits by a number of manufacturing companies, this conference was the third joint venture between four organisations who have cooperated at two previous European events, Stresa 2003 and Prague 2005: the Wire Association International (WAI), USA, Associazione Costruttori Italiani Macchine Per Filo (ACIMAF), Italy, Comité Européen de la Tréfilerie (CET), Europe and the IWMA. Speakers from 13 countries presented papers covering ferrous and non-ferrous products as well as various methods of lubrication, cleansing and testing. All sessions were well attended and feedback from delegates very positive, which is in itself rewarding for the organisers.

The four organisations were pleased with the outcome agreeing to cooperate on our fourth venture in 2009. Following many discussions and investigations it was agreed that the location for the next event would be Barcelona. You will appreciate that the members of the Technical Sub Committee together with representatives of the WAI and ACIMAF have been exceptionally busy in sourcing and selecting papers to ensure a high standard of presentation at all of our events.

Everyone involved with the TSC has worked very hard but in particular I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my gratitude and appreciation to Peter Large, Geoff Church and Terry Robinson for their unwavering support and constant enthusiasm for the very many tasks we undertake.  In addition and on behalf of the TSC I express our appreciation to Phillip Knight, Debi Coleman and Jacqui Dickinson at the IWMA headquarters. Without their assistance our task would be much more than difficult

Don Tucker, Chairman Technical Sub Committee
6 February 2008