Page 58 - ITAtube-journal_2-13

It was during the 2005 Fabtech ex-
hibition in Chicago that the ITA first
discussed with the USA-based Tube
& Pipe Association International
(TPA) and its sister organisation the
Fabricators & Manufacturers Associ-
ation International (FMA) the possi-
bility of organising a joint technical
conference in North America. These
discussions were led by Terry Ba-
nach who was at that time chairman
of the ITA’s North American Manage-
ment Board (NAMB).
During its 34 year history the ITA
has very successfully organised more
than fifty technical events all over
the globe, sometimes in collabora-
tion with other local organisations.
Such events in North America pose
particular problems for organisers
given the sheer scale of the country
and the potentially higher costs of
venues, marketing and support ser-
vices. But at Fabtech 2005 both the
ITA and the TPA quickly concluded
that the former’s global reputation
for attracting high level interna-
tional speakers and the latter’s con-
siderable experience and expertise
in organising events in the USA
could result in a world class techni-
cal event for the industry.
A joint organising committee was
formed and selected Houston, Texas
as the venue. After nearly two years
of meticulous planning “Pipe & Tube
Houston 2007 – seamless and weld-
ed technology for global markets”
took place in September of that
year. It was attended by more than
130 participants and was universally
considered to be an excellent event.
A post event quote from one of the
delegates perfectly encapsulat-
ed this impression: “Attending the
2007 conference in Houston gave
us access to new and up-to-date
technical information regarding the
production of pipe and tube. As an
extra bonus we were able to network
with our peers and members of the
supplier community.” Particularly
pleasing for the co organisers was
the fact that the conference covered
its costs.
In 2010 the ITA and TPA co organ-
ised a second event “Pipe & Tube
Pittsburgh 2010 – technology for
profitable production”. Building on
the successful foundations of the
Houston event the conference in
October 2010 attracted more than
200 participants, 46 speakers and
52 table top exhibits despite the
poor global economic situation.
The third joint conference was held
in Nashville in June last year - “Pipe
& Tube Nashville 2012 – optimiz-
ing operations through continuous
improvement”. Around 200 partici-
pants attended the event which fea-
tured high quality technical pres-
entations, a number of stimulating
round table discussions as well as
more than 50 table top exhibits.
The ITA’s senior representative at
the conference was Andy Houghton,
a member of the European Manage-
ment Board and the Technical Man-
agement Committee. It was Andy’s
first experience of these joint ITA/
TPA events and he was very im-
pressed with the excellent organi-
sation and the level of technology
presented. Some of the products
Andy saw presented he described
as “world class”. As with the two
previous joint conferences the ITA’s
North American Management Board
played a leading part in the plan-
ning and organisation of Pipe &
Tube Nashville 2012 alongside the
excellent efforts of the TPA team.
As soon as the Nashville conference
drew to a close participants were
already asking when and where the
next one would be. The joint or-
ganising committee, which is drawn
from TPA, FMA and ITA NAMB board
members together with adminis-
trative staff from all three organi-
sations started work on the fourth
collaboration in June this year and
will hold regular monthly planning
meetings right up until the confer-
ence next year. After careful study
of the calendar of industry events
around the world as well as consid-
ering post-Nashville feedback from
delegates it has been decided that
the 2014 conference will take
place 16-18 September 2014 in
Houston.
The co-organisers confidently pre-
dict that Pipe & Tube Houston 2014
– Developing Technology for En-
hanced Profitability – will prove to
be every bit as popular as the ITA/
TPA’s previous three collaborations.
58
The ITA and TPA to collaborate for fourth time
with a joint conference, USA in September 2014
ITAtube Journal No2/September 2013
ITA Inside
Phillip Knight, PGK Consult