This year, the Construction Materials Industry Conference (CMIC) technical speaker program will be preceded by a new initiative – an exhibition open day, which will be held on Wednesday, 3 September.
While the conference has long been complemented by an exhibition, this will be the first time that a whole day has been dedicated to highlighting the industry’s suppliers without interruption from speaker program sessions.
“We wanted to expand the opportunity that CMIC provides to include those that may not be able to attend the full conference or the technical speaker program due to time or some other constraint,” CMIC organising committee chairman David Cilento told Quarry. “The exhibition open day provides a great platform for more people from the industry to see what the suppliers and exhibitors have on offer.”
Increased interactivity
Not only will the exhibition allow visitors to browse the latest industry innovations from over 40 leading suppliers but it will feature interactive presentations as well, allowing visitors to see selected products in action.
Clayton Hill, general manager of resources, environmental and land use planning consultancy Groundwork Plus, said that his company would be demonstrating its petrographic analysis capabilities on the day.
“We’ll be allowing delegates to look through the microscope at thin section samples so they can learn why this analysis is so important for understanding a quarry resource,” he explained. “We will also be demonstrating our environmental monitoring and aerial surveying capabilities at our exhibition booth.”
Locker Group, on the other hand, is planning to keep the open day “fairly low key”, according to group marketing manager Carli Barnes. {{image2-A:R-w:250}}
“We will simply be focusing on the ability to have more relaxed conversations with our customers,” she said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to discuss the investments we’re making into our production facilities that will improve both the lead time and quality of our screening products.”
Barnes praised the new CMIC initiative, saying it would provide suppliers with more time to talk to industry experts and customers.
“During the standard conference breaks, customers are often trying to squeeze in a lot of things – eating, returning phone calls, etc – so the dedicated exhibition open day brings a great opportunity for better discussions,” she said.
Hill also commended the addition. “The exhibition open day is a great initiative that will allow people to visit our exhibition booth, including those from the industry that may not normally get to visit such a diverse range of key suppliers in one central location,” he said.
An integrated program on building productivity
Cilento said the speaker presentations had been integrated with the exhibition to showcase technical innovations and products that would assist quarry operators in achieving productivity gains in line with the 2014 theme of Building Productivity.
The conference will focus on how to navigate the increased pressure that has been placed upon the construction materials industry’s operations by financial uncertainty and declining markets in the past five years.
“This year’s theme is extremely relevant for the current and future needs of our industry,” Cilento stated. “The speaker program has been structured to encompass this, starting with broad perspectives and moving through to more specific applications. It also includes case studies.”
Cilento added that he was also looking forward to participating in CMIC’s social program, which he described as “an informal forum for the exchange of ideas and discussions”.
“In my experience, this is where a lot of the benefits are achieved for individual applications,” he said.
When asked why he felt CMIC was important for the quarry industry, Cilento responded, “CMIC is the best forum for all parties in the industry to meet, interact and learn from each other. The event encompasses the latest thinking on all aspects of business – from operations and regulatory changes through to people management and systems. It also provides a strong indication of future direction and challenges, which will help quarry operators and suppliers effectively develop relevant strategies, planning and procurement for their businesses.”
CMIC14 will be held from 3 to 6 September at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event is held biennially and is jointly hosted by the IQA and Cement Concrete Aggregates Australia.
For further information and to register, visit conference.iceaustralia.com
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