ILTA Operating Conference includes seminars presented in Spanish

May 1, 2009
Last Year the association known then as the Independent Liquid Terminals Association changed its name to International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA).

Last Year the association known then as the Independent Liquid Terminals Association changed its name to International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA).

This year, the organization is carrying out its emphasis on “international” by offering several seminars in Spanish at the 29th Annual International Operating Conference and Trade Show June 8-10 in Houston, Texas.

“This track will include presentations in Spanish focusing on operational and technical issues as well as innovative products and services for aboveground storage tank owners and operators,” ILTA information notes.

In addition to the international program, the conference will continue its past spotlights on in-depth education that address the latest developments in terminal operations, personnel management, and regulatory compliance solutions.

A highlight of the week will be the presentation of Safety Awards at the Tuesday networking breakfast. ILTA will recognize selected companies for their outstanding safety performance records in 2008. Winners are selected based on their total reportable incident records as reported to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and based on their responses to a questionnaire designed by ILTA's Safety Award Program Committee.

Winning strategies

Some winning strategies will be discussed by Rick Pitino, head basketball coach for the University of Louisville Cardinals, who will be the conference keynote speaker.

Pitino is one of a select quartet of coaches who have taken teams from four different schools to the NCAA Tournament, and is one of 10 coaches who have reached the Final Four on at least five occasions.

In an eight-year tenure with the University of Kentucky Wildcats, Pitino turned UK into the preeminent team at the college level. Under his reign, the Wildcats made five trips to the Elite Eight, made three Final Four appearances, and won one NCAA Championship.

Besides having an extraordinary career as a coach, Pitino is an accomplished motivational speaker. The coach takes the same proven methods that have earned him and his teams legendary status in the NCAA to provide a plan of attack for achieving extraordinary success.

Opening session

The opening session at the conference features a dialogue among business leaders in the petroleum and chemical industries.

These executives will provide their insights on key issues affecting companies in today's economic and political climate. Topics will include market developments and trends, best practices, new technologies, lessons learned, and guidance on personnel management.

The conference's business seminars are divided into three sections: operation/industry updates, management/business issues, and environmental/health/safety/security.

Monday sessions

On the first morning of the conference, operation/industry updates and management/business issues will combine to include topics on the political landscape by Bob Tippee of the Oil and Gas Journal, California regulatory change by Jay McKeeman of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, and the New Jersey regulatory approach by Jim Benton of the New Jersey Petroleum Council.

In Monday morning's environmental/health/safety/security session, Jeff McGill of Sunoco Logistics Partners will discuss an AST inspection program. Keith Walton of Flint Hills Resources will discuss implementation and case history, followed by Joe Tell of Solution Foundry who will present information of a management system approach.

Monday afternoon's program will include discussions on engineering challenges associated with storage and handling of evolving products by Chuck Travelstead of Brown Minneapolis Tank and Tom Kunkel of ENGlobal Engineering; biofuels logistics opportunities for terminals and pipelines by Jim Lelio of Kinder Morgan; and operational impact of fast-moving fuel markets by Brian Milne of DTN.

Also on the agenda are presentations on the global expansion of the tank storage industry and the outlook for the future by Tony Quinn of Global Storage Agency Ltd; and expanding terminals without increasing environmental liabilities by Gail Corrigan of Corrigan Consulting.

The third section will include discussions on safe cleaning of floating roof tanks by Jeff Powell of Flint Hills Resources, Les Bente of Don Miller and Associates, and Ken Erdmann of Matrix Service. Also in that segment will be Mark Peak of TransMontaigne Products Services and Joe Wilwerding of Sage Environmental Consulting who will discuss leak detection and repair.

Tuesday sessions

Tuesday gets underway with sessions on growth in tough economic times by Eric Spiegel of Booz and Company followed by Earl Crochet of Kinder Morgan Terminals and Alan Watson of A R Watson discussing what to look for when making a terminal facility purchase offer.

Other topics for discussion in the morning include terminal industry salaries and benefits by Shawn Six of Industry Insights and Mike Cabrera of Cabreragroup. Also in that segment will be Steve Roberts of Steven E Roberts PA with an assessment of the business impacts of security regulations on terminals.

The third segment includes a 2009 update on air emissions by Rob Ferry of the TGB Partnership.

Tuesday the trade show opens at 1:30 pm and continues until 6 pm. It gets underway again Wednesday at 9 am through 2 pm.

Post-conference workshops are scheduled Wednesday-Friday with topics on air emissions and storage tank maintenance.