ANNUAL REPORTS
IWMA CHAIRMANS REPORT 2010/2011
2010 has been a challenging year for us all especially with all the financial burdens that many companies have had to face and deal with. The IWMA has also faced the same challenges with companies once again being selective on where they spent their money but with this said we have increased our membership and our finances are in very good shape as you will see from the treasurer’s report.
Our 40th year began, as always, with the “Meet the Industry Lunch”, an event which continues to be popular among our members and guests enabling good networking opportunities along with good food and entertainment.
Wire Düsseldorf took place in April and once again proved to be the premier wire exhibition in the world with a slight increase in exhibitor floor space and visitors over 2008. The IWMA had a large stand once again where we welcomed many of our members who enjoyed the excellent facilities on offer. Düsseldorf was also the venue for our 40th anniversary dinner - a big thank you to all who came along to make this a wonderful night to remember.
Wire China in September was again a success with the IWMA attracting many enquiries for membership. This exhibition continues to grow as China increases its importance as a major player in our industry.
Wire and Cable India held in Mumbai in November was for the first time organised, with short notice, by Messe Düsseldorf and although there was a much needed improvement in the organisation and facilities available much still needs to be done. We are confident that Messe Düsseldorf will now bring this exhibition up to their usual standard with more exhibition space available which is much needed in this important market.
I’m sure that 2011 will be just as challenging as 2010 and looking forward we have Interwire in May, back in Atlanta this year, organised by the WAI. Hot on the heels of Interwire, also in May, is wire Russia and in September wire Southeast Asia takes place in Bangkok. The IWMA will have stands at these exhibitions with excellent facilities for our members and we hope to welcome as many of you as possible.
There will be a technical conference, organised jointly with our friends IWCEA, ACIMAF, CET and WAI, that will be held in Dusseldorf in early November so please watch out for further information on this event.
The past year has been my third and final one as Chairman and I would like to thank all my colleagues on the executive board for their support and their continued and invaluable advice plus all the hard work they have all put in over the past year.
I want to say a special thanks to the IWMA staff, Phillip Knight, Debi Coleman and Jacqui Dickinson, who have put in a lot of hard work this past year and have been a great help to me personally over the past three years.
Finally, I would also like to wish Colin Dawson, my successor as Chairman, every success in the coming year and I hope he enjoys the role as much as I have.
Stephen Wood, Chairman,
2 February 2011
Technical Sub Committee (TSC) Report 2010 - 2011
It does not seem that twelve months have passed since I presented the previous TSC report. At that time I stated that the next conference to be organised was to take place in the second half of 2011. I am pleased to advise that agreement has now been reached and I can confirm that the location will be the Congress Centre in Dusseldorf. The dates are November 7th and 8th. As in the past we will be collaborating with the WAI of the USA, ACIMAF of Italy, the IWCEA and the CET both of which are based in mainland Europe.
At the present time the TSC are busy studying a selection of possible subjects to be presented and once this has been agreed we will then contact the people who hopefully will be in a position to prepare and are able to make a suitable presentation. It is our intention to prepare a programme which will be both innovative and instructional and which will cover both Ferrous and Non Ferrous subjects. It is our intention to run each set of papers concurrently in two separate rooms thus giving the delegates a full day of what we consider will be some very interesting and informative papers.
Wire China was held in Shanghai in September and our assistance was requested by SECRI (The organisation representing the Copper Industry in that country.) We subsequently provided them with six papers. At the same time we assisted SECRI with other matters for which they expressed their appreciation.
As I have stated previously, the TSC is very fortunate in experiencing the assistance given to us by our overseas contacts that provide valuable and much appreciated cooperation. We are also grateful to all of the organisations who provide the speakers and the technical information, because without these it would not be possible to prepare and present such excellent conferences.
Finally I take this opportunity to personally thank the members of the TSC, namely Peter Large, Terry Robinson and Geoff Church for their unflinching support and expertise during the difficult times we are experiencing. On their behalf I also express our gratitude to the IWMA Secretariat for their vital assistance.
Don Tucker, TSC Chairman
2 February 2011