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2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference – 10 Years in the Making
Written by John Packard
January 6, 2020
At the end of August, Steel Market Update will host our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference. Our conference will be the largest flat rolled and plate steel event in North America during this calendar year. The 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference is going to be our best attended and most informative conference yet as 1,200 attendees representing 500+ companies from across the United States, Canada, Mexico and around the world will provide ample opportunities for networking, and to learn more about the transitioning steel industry that is so important to all of our businesses.
Registration is open for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Aug. 24-26. For those of you who have not yet attended our conference, it is like no other in North America. The anticipated 1,200 executives will come from across the business spectrum: manufacturing companies, fabricators, service centers, wholesalers, toll processors, steel mills, trading companies, consultants and AI providers, logistics companies and others associated with providing services to these industries.
The conference will open this year with “Pre-Summit” workshops that will begin at 10 a.m. ET on Monday morning (Aug. 24). This year we will provide a light lunch in the convention center exhibition area for those attending the workshops, and those not wanting to wait for the restaurants at the hotels and risk missing the 1 p.m. start of the Summit program.
The SMU Steel Summit Conference is the best networking opportunity you and your company will have as the attendees are decision-makers. Gathered will be CEOs and company presidents, vice presidents of purchasing and purchasing managers, vice presidents and chief commercial officers and their sales staff, chief financial officers and many others who make critical buy and sell decisions within their organizations.
Click here to review the companies who attended our 2019 conference.
SMU’s Steel Summit Conference is also a place to gather pertinent information about key issues and key forecasts from highly qualified speakers. You will receive information affecting the steel and manufacturing industries from both those within the industry as well as outside experts such as Dr. Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics. Dr. Beaulieu and others will be sharing their forecasts on business conditions and steel pricing for the remainder of 2020 into 2021 and beyond. Industry executives and experts will break out construction, automotive, energy and other key market sectors. We will also discuss commodities or inputs that impact the cost of steel to be produced—items like scrap, pig iron, DRI and iron ore.
Plus, there will be surprise speakers and topics as, after all, 2020 is an election year, and we anticipate by the end of August things will be mighty interesting.
Every SMU Steel Summit Conference is different, it is a learning experience and one we believe you should be sharing with the young and up-and-coming executives within your organization. Young leaders are important for the long-term viability of the industry. SMU, along with our Steel Manufacturers Association partners, will once again recognize those young leaders with our SMU NexGen Leadership Award. This award is for young employees (35 years of age or younger) who are making a difference through their creativity, drive and leadership in any of the following market segments: manufacturing, distribution, steel mill production, processing, logistics, IT or many other areas within companies working with flat rolled or plate steel products. We will soon be reaching out again for nominations from you and your company as to who in your organization could be the next SMU NexGen Leadership Award winner.
As a bonus for those individuals who are being nominated, we offer special pricing to our conference. The registration fee for nominees will be $675 per person (no additional discounts offered) instead of $1,375. This is a great way to recognize young talent within your organization and to expose them to the networking and information that can be gathered at the SMU Steel Summit Conference.
The Georgia International Convention Center is conveniently located adjacent to the Atlanta International Airport (ATL). A three-minute free SkyTrain ride takes you to the Gateway Center where the convention center and four of our five hotels are located (the fifth hotel is about two miles away and is serviced by a free shuttle to the convention center). There will be no need to deal with Atlanta rush hour traffic, no worries about making your flight home. Your company will be pleased at the reasonable rates for the hotels, transportation and the conference itself.
Lastly, SMU understands that a conference needs to bring value to its attendees and their companies. Value can be derived in many ways, and we aim to exceed your expectations as we provide networking cocktail parties, lunch each day of the conference, a large exhibition area (double the size of last year), a comfortable conference meeting room, as well as the opportunity to rent private function rooms inside the convention center for meetings with your employees or customers/suppliers. You can learn more about the exhibition area by contacting Jill Waldman at Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com. You can learn more about renting a private meeting room in the convention center by reaching out to Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com
You can learn about our conference from some of last year’s attendees by watching these videos.
If you are involved in the aluminum industry, stay an extra day to attend the CRU Aluminum Summit Conference, which will be held at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway Hotel, right next to the convention center.
Now is the time to make plans and register for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference.
We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!
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John Packard
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