StocExpo returns to Rotterdam

COME TO THE PARTY

PREVIEW • STOCEXPO ARRIVES ON TIME AND IN FULL AT THE ROTTERDAM AHOY THIS MONTH, WITH MUCH TO ATTRACT PROFESSIONALS IN THE GLOBAL STORAGE TERMINAL SECTOR

IT’S THAT TIME of year again when the world’s storage terminal professionals make tracks to Rotterdam for the annual StocExpo Europe event. They are attracted by the opportunity to see what’s new in terms of terminal equipment and services, to hear from expert speakers and to network with their peers.

This year’s event, which opens at the Rotterdam Ahoy on 10 March for three days, features more than 150 leading providers from across the world’s bulk liquids supply chain, including many familiar names alongside newcomers to the sector.

Mark Rimmer, StocExpo divisional director, says: “The event and its exhibition will host the world’s leading companies from across the entire bulk liquid storage supply chain. Visitors in attendance will have the opportunity to learn from the best in the business where the industry is heading. StocExpo 2020 is undoubtedly the place to be for anybody keen to get amongst major industry players and their future-defining products and services.” FRIENDS OLD AND NEW Among regular exhibitors at StocExpo returning again this year are J de Jonge, Endress+Hauser, Kanon Loading Equipment, Lightning Eliminators, Elmac Technologies and Intero Integrity Services.

Guided Ultranics will also be there. Jackie Berry, global distribution manager for the company, explains why: “StocExpo provides us with a platform to present our innovations to leading oil majors, terminals and key storage players from all over the world. The event is always forward-looking, and we can’t wait to show organisations how they can best tackle the challenges they have today, and those they may face in the future.”

Grace Zhang, sales representative for Qingdao Alptec Safety Equipment, agrees: “The event gathers the world’s best industry leaders, professionals and manufacturers in the oil storage and transportation industry. There is no better place to see the launch of advanced, ahead of the curve products and services.”

Bernat Sala, CEO of Tecam, says: “Due to the strategic location of the event in Rotterdam, we consider StocExpo to be an essential meeting point for suppliers across the bulk liquid storage supply chain to get in front of potential buyers.”

A number of exhibitors will be using StocExpo to launch new products and services. UK-based Global Ultrasonics, for instance, will introduce its new QSR1, a Quantitative Short Range scanning system geared to industrial applications such as measurement of remaining wall thickness at corrosion under supports (CUPS) and under corrosion scabs. It will also showcase all of its guided wave screening, scanning and monitoring products and services.

Qingdao Alptec, which describes itself as the leading manufacturer of overfill protection and grounding systems in China, will launch an electrostatic monitoring eliminator to be used at fuel dispensers during the show. US-based Lightning Eliminators & Consultants will show a new addition to its retractable grounding assembly (RGA) range, which it says is “an

important development in advancing safety in the storage tank sector”, and the UK’s VOCZero Ltd will have a new membrane vapour recovery unit at its booth.

Also of interest will be the Intero Integrity Services stand, which it will be sharing for the first time with its recently acquired affiliate The Sniffers. Visitors will be keen to see its newly launched emission reduction services. Spain’s Tecam will also be on hand, bringing its expertise to help terminal operators eliminate emissions from their tanks. “Tecam has vast and proven experience in the chemical and petrochemical sector and is helping the tank storage sector with emissions elimination,” the company says. “Each industry has its own specific technical requirements, and Tecam has the experience and the know-how to offer the most suitable solution to each case.”

THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW The two-day conference that runs alongside the exhibition will this year be chaired by trainer, author and HCB columnist Arend van Campen. The first day will focus on the coming changes to the bulk liquids storage sector as a result of the move towards the decarbonisation of the fuel chain and other efforts to ward off climate change. Fittingly, the morning session will open with a presentation from Artur Runge-Metzger, director of the European Commission’s DG-CLIMA, on how the EU is aiming to make Europe climate-neutral. Other morning presentations will look at the likely role of alternative fuels, including LNG, hydrogen and others, in this green future – and what that means for tank terminal operators.

After lunch, a variety of speakers will look closely at issues of sustainability in general and more particularly in the storage terminal sector. Stephen Li, director, Oil Markets, Midstream & Downstream Consulting at IHS Markit, will bring those threads together by giving his opinion of the long-term outlook for the business. That will be followed by a panel session with four speakers trying to provide a picture of what the storage terminal will look like in 50 years’ time.

The second day of the conference turns to talk of markets, with an assessment of the impact of the ‘IMO 2020’ rule on terminal operators and another paper looking at the current phase of trade wars and what the ‘great power rivalry’ means for the international environment. There will also be presentations on the topic of legislation, with Maayke Maas-Cooymans, partner at Ploum, looking in detail at the the new PGS29 rules put in place in the Netherlands for risk assessment, and Ravi Bhatiani, executive director of the Federation of European Tank Storage Associations (FETSA), taking a broader perspective on the regulatory changes that affect terminal operators.

After lunch, talk will turn to innovation and the impact it can have on terminal operations. The session will begin with a two-hander featuring Vopak’s chief information officer, Leo Brand, and Nadine Herrwerth, commercial director of TWTG, discussing what the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can do for operators. Emerson’s Richard Sieverson will also address digitisation in the terminal, while speakers from Kinder Morgan, Honeywell and the Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association (EEMUA) will examine what other innovations will mean for the industry. Some of those will stay on for a panel session to help sort out the hype from the reality.

For those who do not need to get up too early on the final day, the conference will run into a late-night party, so expect some sore heads when it comes to breaking down the exhibition. Full details of the conference programme, exhibition and venue can be found on the event’s website, www.stocexpo.com

EVERY YEAR STOCEXPO PROVIDES THE BEST

MARKETPLACE IN EUROPE FOR THE TANK TERMINAL

INDUSTRY, ATTRACTING BUYERS FROM AROUND THE

WORLD TO SEE WHAT’S NEW FOR THEIR COMMERCIAL