Letter from the President

I am delighted to take on the role of IPLOCA President for this coming year and look forward to working with our new and existing board members, together with the Secretariat, to ensure we continue to enhance the value offered to our members, partners and affiliates alike.

I would like to thank John and Joanne Tikkanen for their leadership and support in 2018-2019. Following on from the year-long Strategic Review, our work will focus on improving communications not only between our members but also within the World Federation of Pipe Line Industry Associations (WFPIA); developing our relationship with IPLOCA’s Corresponding Members (pipeline owners/operators); and continuing to hold Regional Meetings and Workshops in addition to the Annual Convention.

It is always good to see new faces on the Board, bringing with them fresh ideas and energy. I would like to warmly welcome all the incoming directors whose profiles you will find on pages 8 and 9 of this newsletter. It is also encouraging to have new or returning companies joining us at this exciting time in the evolution of our association.

This year over 80 first-time attendees participated in our 53 rd Annual Convention, which took

place in Bangkok, Thailand. As always, we particularly thank our convention sponsors for their generous support in making our annual convention such a unique event. In addition to our excellent guest speakers, the Business to Business (B2B) meetings as well as the informative Poster Sessions were greatly appreciated by our delegates. A retrospective on the convention can be found on pages 14 to 17, including a feature on the winners of this year’s IPLOCA Awards.

In this newsletter, you will find updates on the work of the HSE & CSR Committee and the Innovation Committee, specifically the Environmental Workshop and the Novel Construction Fall Session that were held in Geneva from 22 to 24 October. You will also note that applications are already being received for the 2020 Scholarship Programme.

I expect a busy year ahead for the association. The Board does not work in isolation, however; and we always welcome participation from all our members in IPLOCA’s projects and committees. Please feel free to contact a director or juan.arzuaga@iploca.com if you have any suggestions or wish to provide feedback.

Best regards,

Iosif Panchak IPLOCA President 2019-2020