NACE 2003 Conference Report
NACE 2003 Conference Report
Keywords: Corrosion, Conferences
Well, it is that time of year again, and so it was off to San Diego,California for the Annual National association of corrosion engineers (NACE)conference. There should have been some photographs to accompany this report,but the compact flash card was fried by the camera before I could download them,so there are only the words this year. Imagine the scenes of last year –the new NACE President, Pierre Crevolin, the brightly-lit exhibition area, the notables shaking hands and smiling, people signing agreements, etc. You know the type of thing.
This year's meeting was at the same venue, where the last meeting took place about 5 years back, so I was a little better organised in terms of where to stay and what to expect at the SD conference centre, which is simply massive, but located on the "far side" of tram and railway tracks. This is OK if you stay in one of the official hotels and take the conference bus service, but not so convenient if you choose one of the less expensive hotels near the venue, which was what I did. Still, the weather had cleared up by the time I arrived on Sunday afternoon and remained fine for the rest of the week in what is, without doubt, one of the more attractive cities in America.
Attending the NACE conference is not a cheap trip, especially in California. The non-member registration fee (not including banquet) effectively includes a 1 year membership of NACE (which obviously you would have paid already if you are an existing member) comes to around $800 inclusive of a discounted CD-Rom of the proceedings. A return airfare from the UK adds a further $850 or so,accommodation, transportation and incidental expenses add a further $800 or so,and hence there is not much change from $2,500 just to attend. Nevertheless,around 4,600 people felt it was worth the effort. This figure was well down on the previous record attendance of around 6,000, but perhaps not surprising in view of the situation in the Middle East as war commenced the same week. It was rumoured that delegates from one of the Scandinavian Oil Companies were recalled immediately and there was an unfocussed feeling amongst American delegates that they "kind of should do something" as a response, even if it was just to go home a day early, though there did not seem to be any real basis for that idea.
Other than to avoid the rain, a late Sunday arrival turned out not to be the best strategy. I had decided to do this partly because my travel schedule has been heavy in recent months and an extra day at home was a good bonus. I was not interested in going to the special workshop on Refinery Industry Corrosion(excellent, I understand, but adding a further $800 to your attendance fee). I have had to attend administration meetings in connection with the International Relations Strategy Operations and Pubic Affairs Committee meetings in the previous years, but this year, most of the international stuff had been timetabled later in the week. However, I should have looked at the Advance Programme more carefully, because I missed at least one important meeting and it is clear that the meeting now runs from Sunday to Thursday, thus giving people only one day i.e. Friday to have some time off or to get home again in time for the weekend.
As I have mentioned in the previous reports of this conference, the meeting is somewhat different from the normal vendor/buyer conferences because it serves as the international information exchange for the global corrosion community. There is a mixture of formal technical sessions (a full programme with multiple parallel sessions that are sponsored by the various "Technical Exchange Groups",formerly known as Task Groups), the TEG meetings themselves – informal sessions where interested individuals get together to identify corrosion-related issues of current concern, work on recommended practices, or new or revised NACE standards, or simply to meet colleagues and catch up on their progress during the previous 12 months. As it is held in the USA, all activities must comply with the anti-trust legislation effective in that country, which means that all sessions (including the NACE board meeting) are open meetings and can be attended by anyone who wishes to do so. Any delegate who wishes to join a TEG is free to do so, and even if only visiting a TEG meeting, they are free (and normally encouraged) to participate and contribute to the discussion. I mention these features because it is important to recognise that, in general, the NACE environment is designed to encourage the participation of all delegates and there is a genuine desire to service and support the needs and requirements of the global corrosion community.
The meeting ran very smoothly and from a technical standpoint, my impression was that the standard of papers presented seemed higher than that of recent years. As ever, there were periods when nothing interesting seemed to be happening for a couple of hours, and then three or four "cannot miss" activities clashed, so it was impossible to get to all of them. There was a very good session on oil and gas production issues, a strong programme on high temperature corrosion issues, and then the nuclear men turned out in force to catch up or make their latest pronouncements about the finer points of the effects of water chemistry in reactors of various sorts. Other sessions addressed water treatment, coatings, cathodic protection, MIC, corrosion control in military and aerospace applications, etc. The CD-Rom was of a good value this year at $250(it has been priced at $500 in previous years and the non-attendee price remains at that level, which is expensive but a good deal less so than would be going to the meeting).
The NACE conference is complemented by the exhibition, which was very well supported. Some 340 companies or organisations exhibited, and the exhibition hall was within the main conference venue, which meant that it was conveniently close for delegates to make their way there in between sessions or in the lunch break. To the best of my knowledge, this is by far the largest corrosion-based exhibition in the world and the booths this year seemed particularly well turned out. Feedback from the exhibitors was that there were fewer visitors to their stands, but those who were there with money to spend were interested in what was on offer.
So, what was special about this year's event? Well, the organisation ran more smoothly, the technical papers were of higher quality, the location was good and the weather was nice, but there was not a real technical highlight. John Stringer gave an excellent unofficial "plenary" talk on Corrosion Costs in the Power Industry early on Thursday morning that I would not have missed for anything (though his paper was not available in the proceedings). However, the"Front Page Issues" did not have the urgency or immediacy of previous years and it was difficult to escape the fact that everyone was somewhat preoccupied with the news of Iraq and the 24 h television news coverage that was the first topic of conversation everywhere. Perhaps it was fitting, therefore, that the key issue to emerge at the meeting was international issues.
The NACE International Relations Committee has enjoyed mixed fortunes during the past decade or so. I was invited to join the original "IRC" by the then incoming NACE President, Redvers Parkins, the first ever non-North American President of NACE. I have forgotten the exact date, but if memory serves it would be around 1989 or 90. Although Parkins was a member of the UK Institute of Corrosion, he had always generally been perceived to be a "NACE man", though that is not to suggest that he was ever anti-ICorr. I had been a member of both organisations since around 1981, though I had been more involved with the (UK)Institute of Corrosion. Nevertheless, I had the opportunity to attend many of the NACE conferences from 1986 onwards and I always felt that, in an ideal world, there should be a place for NACE as the global opinion leader of the corrosion control industry, just as there was clearly a place for local corrosion societies to represent national corrosion interests, just as indeed NACE had done in the years before "NACE International" had come into being.
I remember the first IRC meeting I attended at the busy San Francisco in 1989. The room was packed – standing room only for non-committee members. The debate was intense. Essentially, what was happening was that some of the more assertive non-North American members had recognised that the then structure of NACE meant that each regional section was entitled to represent the main board. The format originally was developed to ensure a democratic representation of all sections of the society. However, a degree of resentment existed outside the states that the US members behaved as if NACE could dictate to everyone else how the corrosion control industry might operate. However, with the growth of the various international sections, it had been realised that there was a potential for more representatives to come from outside North America than inside it. A takeover bid was therefore in prospect, though that possibility was not discussed within the meeting, but outside it.
In the event, other issues pre-empted that eventuality. By the end of 1980s,both the NACE and ICorr were in financial difficulty. Drastic restructuring was necessary in the UK and also had to be implemented within the NACE. The then President, Bill Gundacre – as nice a man as you could wish to meet –had the unpleasant task of cutting overhead, reducing NACE member services and activities that had spiralled virtually out of control during the fat years of the early 1980s. Despite undergoing a heart bypass operation during the middle of his year of office, I remember him coming to a section meeting in Toronto to inform the Canadian group why the cutbacks had been necessary and what had to be achieved. His successor, Bob Brown, took a more direct approach. Amongst other changes, he oversaw the disbanding of the former International Relations Committee, instigating instead the "International Relations Management Committee" which, despite its similar-sounding name, had been devised to"manage" international relations and most definitely not to facilitate their participation in the NACE organisational structure.
The move was dressed up with other cosmetics: a board of International Trustees was formed with the notional responsibility to co-ordinate the activities of the various international "regions", each of which also now had their own board of directors. The main outcome was that all the international sections now reported to the board of International Trustees, one of which was entitled to sit on the main NACE board. This effectively cut the international representation at the board level to one director, leaving control with the North American sections and ensuring the "takeover" scenario would never regain momentum.
In reality, the new IRMC was irrelevant and was recognised as such both by the NACE hierarchy and by the various international representatives. Attendance dwindled to the point that the meeting was effectively moribund by the mid 1990s. The threat of international control of the society had been neutralised and the members of the Guild of Pipeline Engineers, still at the core of NACE management, once more ruled the roost. By mid 1990s, however, NACE had come to the realisation that the corrosion community in North America was dwindling. Fewer engineers were being recruited into the Materials area, and fewer still were becoming corrosion engineers. There was a finite limit on how many new members, the society could expect to attract at home, and that meant a progressively lower income to support the NACE establishment – the office,administrators and pension fund. What was to be done?
The obvious answer was to recruit more members from the rest of the world. The only problem was that such members would expect to have an equal say in the running of the society and would expect to enjoy membership benefits on par with those enjoyed by the North American members. However, that problem was less immediate than was the need to obtain more revenue and it was put to one side for the time being. Gene Rack was appointed as the Chairman of the new International Relations Forum. A circular was issued to the various National corrosion societies that they were invited to attend the forum, which would meet at the forthcoming NACE conference in New Orleans to give a voice to the various corrosion societies of the world and to provide an opportunity for better understanding between NACE and those societies.
The forum was a success in terms of the number of participants. The room was once again packed, indicating both that the national societies wished colleagues to be aware of their existence and their meetings, and that they welcomed the promise of a more collaborative relationship with NACE. The only problem was that the North American NACE people found the session boring. They were not really interested in hearing about any initiatives or successes of other societies – they were only concerned about the initiatives from which NACE could, by itself, be directly profited.
In 1998, the then NACE board decided to invite input from the various non-NACE national corrosion societies as to how NACE might best develop its international relations policy. The initiative was good in that it recognised that this feedback was not going to come from the various NACE sections abroad. If NACE were going to work with the national corrosion societies, it needed to interface directly with them in order to obtain unfiltered comment on how and why the various corrosion societies might and should collaborate. The new advisory group would be called the NACE international relations strategy operations committee (IRSOC). Its terms of reference were that it would be purely advisory and it would report directly to the main NACE board. Early meetings were chaired by Elaine Bowman – subsequently to become the first female NACE President (and now the immediate Past President) and subsequently was taken over by Elizabeth Babian-Kibala, a former colleague at Nalco- Exxon. The response from the international delegates was positive. A draft report was prepared that outlined the concerns of the local corrosion societies but welcoming the apparent opportunity to work with NACE to coordinate global opinion on corrosion control technology, thereby maximising the impact of the industry in the marketplace which, it was expected, would result in more members for local corrosion societies and for NACE. The first draft report was submitted by the IRSOC for consideration by the board 18 months back. Nothing happened. There was no acknowledgement, no response, and no action. Elizabeth Babian-Kibala moved jobs and had to step down from the committee. The excellent Hector Videla, a leading member of the South American corrosion community, was"appointed" to chair the committee (no one disputed that he was not a good choice, but there was surprise that a democratic committee within a membership organisation apparently was not allowed to elect its own chairperson). Hector said he would take it on for 1 year, but not longer. After discussion, I myself was invited to take on the chair, but with no feedback on the report, it would be questionable if there is really any role or future for the committee.
Why is this important in the context of this year's NACE conference? Well, it was announced that the International Relations Forum would be chaired this year by none other than Jeff Littleton, the newly-appointed NACE Chief Executive Officer. There was no precedent for this, but at least it appeared to indicate real commitment at the top of the NACE administration to the internationalisation of NACE. It was then revealed that a new memorandum of understanding would be signed between NACE and the European Federation of Corrosion (EFC) at the meeting. Bearing in mind that EFC was originally conceived as a turf-protection measure against NACE, this could be a major development in fostering international relations between NACE and the global corrosion community. Gradually, however, the details of the new NACE strategic plan emerged. Key within it is that there is a drive to increase North American membership numbers by 10 per cent. In practice, this figure will barely cover natural wastage. However, further down the document, there is a declared intention to increase non-North American membership by a targeted 100 per cent!It is clear, therefore, that any real growth in NACE membership numbers is to be achieved entirely outside North America.
This would be fine if there were any real indication that the North Americans have grasped the need to partner with local technical societies around the world and not simply try to overpower them, entice away their members, and in doing so fragment the already limited resources of the world corrosion community. You might imagine that senior NACE officers would recognise the folly of such a manoeuvre, but you have only to look at the disastrous "franchising" of the NACE Coating Inspection Training and Certification Courses, or the announcement in the new strategic plan that it plans to launch a coatings journal, provide more services for the coatings industry, and of course appoint yet another new NACE Staffer to look after the area. In doing so, it will go into direct competition with SSPC with whom it decided last year that it would not bother to amalgamate,and compete directly with JPCL and EPC, the excellent coatings journals that have developed that market. Where is the collaboration here? No, only greater opportunity for bickering and fragmentation. Sure, NACE is bigger than everyone else, but that should give it greater incentive for cooperation, not perpetuation of the outdated parochial attitude that endears people the world over, to American domination.
The situation was encapsulated at the International Relations Forum meeting in San Diego. After all the trumpeting, hoo-hah, photographs and handshakes when Elaine Bowman and Don Harrop signed the MOU, the first presentation by an international representative was given by Mrs Xin Yindi of the China Corrosion Association (CATA). To my certain knowledge, Mrs Xin, accompanied by her colleague, and fellow CATA Director, Dr Ren, have attended the NACE conferences for the past several years. This year, they had also rented a booth in the corrosion exhibition and had arranged for the participation of some 30 speakers from China, though this last initiative was thwarted by blocked visa applications. CATA was reported to be growing strongly in China, and photographs showing recent successful meetings and activities were presented, which illustrated the breadth and depth of interest in corrosion in China. At the end of the presentation, a questioner asked, in the light of the EFC memorandum,that if any similar initiative with CATA was under consideration at NACE. There was not a single NACE officer left in the room. The attention span and declared commitment to international relations had barely lasted for 10 min.
If you were to ask those who slipped away, you can be certain that they would have good excuses. The fact remains that if NACE is truly motivated to be a global leader, and not merely a cause of international disharmony, someone within the organisation has to be prepared to maintain the focus, drive the commitment, get away from the parochialism and not think that NACE/America must automatically come first in every other society in the world. Sure, NACE can have a share, but must add value and earn it in partnership with the other people and groups who already have a significant interest in regional corrosion issues, not just try and snatch a piece of their pie.
George Hays is the incoming Vice President and will be the President for the next year. George says that he has the interest and the commitment. George also says NACE will support its local sections by giving them first refusal in offering the Coatings Inspector training courses. This will undoubtedly continue the competition between NACE and the national corrosion societies throughout the world and the fragmentation that will result. He says that he is not interested in what has happened in the past, but interested only how to make things better in the future. Nobody in the MOAC meeting was very bothered. We would all vote on the new NACE strategy document – 100 per cent increase in membership from the international community. Competition, not collaboration, with anyone who is doing well. I cannot help but imagine that members of the global corrosion community will find this attitude both arrogant and immature at the same time. The shame of it is that NACE cannot win unless it does collaborate,and neither can the local corrosion societies. It is a pity that nobody at NACE seems really to be willing to work for a bigger vision. Have a nice day now.
