News
26 November 2014

An Exceptional World LP Gas Forum Wrapped up in Miami Last Week

The 27th World LP Gas Forum united with the 29th AIGLP Congress at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, USA under the theme of The Future Starts Now, bringing the LP Gas World Forum to the USA for the first time since 2008. With a sold-out exhibition and outstanding conference programme this event was an unprecedented success affording unique networking, learning and business opportunities.

Key Facts and Figures:                          

Main overview:

Around 2,000 total attendees
88 countries represented
Top five countries represented

1. USA         661
2. India        132
3. Brazil        77
4. Japan       73
5. Nigeria      52

The Conference

43 high level international speakers for the Forum
10
speakers for the GTC
9
speakers for the Global Autogas Summit

The Exhibition

97 exhibiting companies bringing 535 exhibiting staff

The Future Starts Now! Conference Highlights

With a packed two day conference there were many highlights but notably from Celebrity Chef and global advocate for clean cooking José Andrés who gave a rousing keynote speech noting that high end chefs spend their careers feeding the privileged few, while now he wanted to focus on feeding the impoverished many. José spoke passionately about the work that his NGO WorldCentralKitchen is doing in Haiti converting the kitchens of schools from using biomass to using LPG for cooking. He spoke about how access to clean energy and cooking was changing the lives of the students and guaranteeing a brighter future for Haiti and he noted that LPG was the catalyst behind this change.  WLPGA President Kimball Chen and José Andrés signed an agreement whereby WLPGA and World Central Kitchen will work together to create a Good Practices Guidelines for the conversion of institutional kitchens (schools, hospitals, orphanages, barracks, etc) from biomass to LPG. Chef José Andrés, Founder of WorldCentralKitchen and Mr Kimball Chen, WLPGA President

Other main sessions included an opening round table addressing the continued gap between global LPG supply and demand and the much anticipated launch of the LPG Applications database (http://lpg-apps.org/).   Further sessions focused on the fundamental changes the global LPG market is currently experiencing and how understanding these will be key to survival and a panel dedicated to looking at smart marketing, addressing the issue of whether we can we shift our industry with clever advertising, marketing and communications.

Other Highlights

A new and exciting initiative from WLPGA, the first Global World Women in Propane session chaired by Nikki Brown, from Cavagna Group was kicked off by a very engaging introduction by Kimball Chen, president of WLPGA.  Following on from the success of the US Women in Propane Council this session took a fascinating, in depth look at the very real need to provide female models for leadership in the industry. As well as the Conference, the week of events also two half day sessions of Global Technology Conference (GTC) and Global Autogas Summit.

The GTC, an annual event organised by WLPGA alongside the Forum is the opportunity for companies to showcase the very latest technological innovation impacting the global LPG industry.  With a look at general innovation and also a focus on applications this is always a unique opportunity to explore the latest technology the industry has to offer.

The Global Autogas Summit, also organised by the WLPGA, is a half day event addressing the fuel sector.  This year’s Summit looked at fuel metering technology for modern vehicles and fleet management.

The organisers warmly thank all sponsors who contributed to this exceptional event.

WORLD LPG ASSOCIATION (WLPGA)

The WLPGA is the authoritative voice for the global LPG industry with over 200 members in 125 countries.  The Association unites private and public companies involved in several or all industry activities, develops long-term partnerships with international organisations and implements projects on local and global scales. The Association was established in 1987 and granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1989.   The Association’s multi-faceted mission is to demonstrate the benefits of LPG, inform, educate and influence global stakeholders; support the development of LPG markets; promote compliance with standards, good business and safety practices, and identify innovation and facilitate knowledge transfer.  For more information visit www.wlpga.org

IBERO AMERICAN LP GAS ASSOCIATION (AIGLP)

The AIGLP, now 29th years old, is a technical and scientific non-profit international organization, composed of 57 companies, associations and other organizations from 15 countries, fully devoted to the production, importation, storage, bottling, distribution and research activities related to the application of Liquefied Petroleum Gas - LP Gas in the Ibero-American Region. The association’s mission is to develop and support improvements in the LP Gas industry by fostering the intense exchange of experiences among this sector’s main organizations and their interfaces within the scope of work of Ibero-American markets.  The association is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For more information visit www.aiglp.org