News
22 May 2013

A Roundup from Atlanta and Washington DC

On April 12th - 15th, WLPGA once again participated in the NPGA annual Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo.

The Southeastern Convention which features one of the largest exhibitions of LP Gas appliances in the world, is a fixture on the North American industry’s calendar.

WLPGA has been participating for the last four years and is in charge of the International Resources Center on the exhibition floor where delegates from across North America and beyond can get information on developments taking place in the industry globally and how this could potentially impact their businesses.  WLPGA also held an educational session entitled “An Exceptional Energy: Global Trends in Propane Today“ which featured speakers from around the world discussing industry trends in their markets.

Kicked off with a rousing keynote address by Associaciòn Ibero-Americana de GLP (AIGLP) President Jonathan Benchimol from Fogas in Brazil, the panel also featured speakers from the Indian Autogas Coalition, Ragasco, Kosan Crisplant and WLPGA itself. The discussions which followed the presentations were wide ranging and focused on the many opportunities that exist for North American companies around the world, particularly in the developing world where the industry is growing quickly and is need of advanced technology and know-how.

During the Southeastern convention in Atlanta WLPGA also held the first official meeting of the National Organising Committee (NOC) of the 2014 World LP Gas Forum which is scheduled to be held from 28th to 30th October 2014 at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami. The event, which will be the 27th World LP Gas Forum and the first one held in North America since Chicago 2006, will be a joint event along with the AIGLP Annual Congress. The meeting in Atlanta was an opportunity to assemble key supporters from the local market and to understand what steps would need to be taken to ensure the Forum a success. NOC member Stuart Weidie from Blossman Gas who participated on the NOC for the Forum in Chicago said that “While it will likely be interesting for those outside North American to see what is happening in our markets, I’m curious to see what is happening in outside of this region and how we can learn from those experiences to improve and increase our businesses. This Forum offers an excellent opportunity to do just that”.  The meeting included representatives from NPGA, PERC, some of North America’s biggest distribution companies as well as various state propane associations who on hand to discuss future planning and marketing strategies. The next meeting of the Miami 2014 NOC will be held during the London Forum in October

Michael Kelly was also in Washington DC in mid-April meeting with representatives of various departments of the World Bank and other organisations for the Cooking For Life campaign.

Michael held meetings with World Bank officials on the different areas where WLPGA and Cooking For Life might be able to cooperate on developing projects. Michael also met with Radha Muthiah who heads up the Global Alliance of Clean Cookstoves. The two discussed ways in which the LP Gas industry through Cooking For Life could become more involved in some of the regional and country initiatives that are being launched by the Alliance. Finally, Michael met with senior officials at the UN Foundation which has recently finalised a study on access to energy and women’s health and well-being. Entitled “High-Impact Opportunity: Energy and Women’s Health” this area of research is one where Cooking For Life and the LP Gas industry more generally should be able to participate in and benefit from.