Informex Specialty Chemical Conference EQUALS Success
May 18, 2010 3:58 PM
We’re back in the office today after the inaugural Informex Specialty Chemical conference. The conference was a success! The participants were so up-beat. I had numerous people come up to me during the course of the event saying how much business they were able to achieve – in just 8-9 intense hours! I’m sure the espresso glazed flat iron steak helped a bit. Oh, and just in case you travel to Houston, their pecan pie is to die for.
The setting of the conference made it easy for people to connect. Having such a targeted event meant everyone who was there wanted to talk to everyone else. It’s so gratifying as an organizer to see that when the right people are together it doesn’t take more than coffee, bagels, and a room to chat in to get the crowd networking with one another – and of course it helps to transition to cocktails later in the day!
The day was a great balance of networking and conference sessions. We had 5 sessions in total, and fantastic speakers. It was very pleasing to hear so many of the speakers quoting one another. Knowing that even the experts found interest in what others were saying changed the sessions from presentations to discussions. Attendees, sponsors, and speakers had a forum where they could be part of something bigger than their individual session. These people were the key players to the specialty chemical industry, they were representing how the industry actually functions on a day-to-day basis, and they were all talking together.
During the Q&A of the “Capitalizing on a New Market for Your Products” session a question was asked to the panel about the recent Gulf Coast oil spill and the panelist made some interesting remarks about inventive ideas for the clean-up and prevention. However what was really unique was a representative from BP stood up and said that she specifically came to the conference looking for answers to questions about the oil spill. Little moments like that make me realize the significance a face-to-face event can bring to an entire industry.
Informex will definitely be hosting a Specialty Chemical conference again next year, and would like your feedback about where would you like to have the conference, what time of year, what topics would you like to see presented, and anything else you would like to tell us. So send me an email and let me know what you think, jjessup@informex.com.
Thanks for reading.
JJ
