SMU Steel Summit Conference: Full Agenda

We will be looking at demand within the core industries which impact flat rolled and plate steel prices.

We have speakers who will take a stab at where steel prices will be in the coming months and next year.

Alan Beaulieu will join us on Wednesday to discuss where we are in the business cycle and what you need to be doing to prepare your business for the future.

There are (currently) three mill CEO’s who are known for being honest and direct with their responses about their business, and the industry in general. We are looking forward to having Lourenco Goncalves (Cleveland Cliffs), Mark Millett (Steel Dynamics), and Alan Kestenbaum (Stelco) sit down, roll up their sleeves, and talk frankly with us.

Please review the proposed agenda with the understanding there will be some tweaks and additions made over the coming days and weeks as we finalize speakers and how we will be handling certain subject matter.

If you would like to join the 1,200 executives we are anticipating at this year’s conference you can do so by clicking here or going to: https://events.crugroup.com/smusteelsummit/home

Day 1: Monday, August 22, 2022

Pre-Summit Conference: Risks Your Company is Facing

If the past eighteen months has taught us anything it is there is risk all around us which we need to deal with on a timely basis. There are supply chain, commodities shortages and price surges, inventory challenges, price risks associated with the volatility from events beyond our control, and we now have forces outside of North America who are probing your computer systems looking for ways to interrupt of cease your operations.

The 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference will begin by dealing with some of these issues on Monday morning with three “Pre-Summit Workshops.”

9:00am                 Commodity Focused Workshop

9:45am                 Break: Sponsored by Ranger Steel

10:00am              Managing Price Risk

There are many risks associated with the supply chain. This includes risks to commodity prices which impact steel prices, and, of course, the steel prices themselves. We are working with the CME Group to host a discussion about supply chain risks and how to better protect your company from the volatility associated with commodity, scrap, and steel prices.

10:45                     Break: Sponsored by Ranger Steel

11:00                     Cyber Security: Steps to Protect Your Company – Sponsored by Crowe

Recently, the president of a mid-sized manufacturing company informed Steel Market Update of the hacking of their company’s computer systems which effectively shut down their operations. Fortunately for this company they were able to get back up and running without paying the Russian hackers.

With the war between Russia and Ukraine and the positions taking by the United States, Canada, and most of the rest of the world, the risk associated with cyber-security are growing and cannot be ignored. We are working with Crowe to provide some answers to the questions you might have about how to protect your company from the risks from those wishing to harm or destroy your company’s systems.

• Preparation (how to build a cyber-security team)
• Mitigation (how to minimize the impact of an attack and manage the process)
• Continuous Improvement (how to make security a core part of your company)

12:00                     Lunch: Sponsored by PSI Metals

1:00pm                 Beginning of Conference – SMU Data Opening

We will open this year’s conference discussing some of the key proprietary data collected by Steel Market Update. This will include our Service Center Inventories & Shipment Analysis, Pricing Indices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate products, and more.

• John Packard, Founder and former President & CEO – Steel Market Update
• Michael Cowden, Senior Editor – Steel Market Update

1:30pm                 Gene Marks: Issues Impacting Your Growth Over the Next Few Years

Gene Marks, CPA is an author of five books on business management specifically geared toward small and medium sized companies, a columnist for The Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine and The Guardian, he appears regularly on MSNBC, Fox News, The John Batchelor Show and SiriusXM’s Wharton Business Channel, and is a well-known keynote speaker.

Gene will set the stage for this year’s conference as he discusses inflation, labor issues, political and legislative and other issues affecting your business now, and into the future.

2:30pm                 Break: Sponsored by Acero Prime

2:50pm                 The Meltdown and Reconstitution of the Global Steel Industry

• Michael Setterdahl, Senior Advisor – GFG Alliance
• Johnny Sjorstrom, Executive Vice President and Head of Special Steel Division – SSAB
• Speaker TBA

3:40pm                 Fireside Chat with Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO – Cleveland Cliffs

4:30pm                 Networking Reception: Sponsored by Heidtman Steel

5:30pm                 NexGen Community and NexGen Leadership Award Reception

This will be the first meeting of the SMU NexGen Community, an organization dedicated to those 40 years of age and younger who are associated with the greater steel, metals and manufacturing industries. Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs will address those attending.

Day 2: Tuesday, August 23, 2022

8:30am                 Conference Opening: Celebrate!

• John Packard, Founder and former President & CEO – Steel Market Update
• Michael Cowden, Senior Editor – Steel Market Update

9:00am                 Is International Steel Trade Still Viable in the Current Market?

• Jerry Richardson, President – CSN LLC
• Lewis Leibowitz – The Law Offices of Lewis E. Leibowitz
• Other Speakers TBA

9:45am                 Break: Sponsored by Paragon Steel

10:15am              Keynote Speaker – TBA

11:00am               The Future of the Trucking Industry

The trucking industry is undergoing transformational changes due to the lack of drivers as well as the new technology, equipment, and changes to the rules of the road. This panel will discuss electric trucks, fuel-cell vehicles, driverless trucks, and other changes that are transforming the industry.

Nikola Motor Company will have an electric truck at the conference for our attendees to view.

• Gregg Troian, President – PGT Trucking
• Pablo Koziner, President, Energy & Commercial – Nikola Motor Company

11:45am              Lunch: Sponsored by Nucor 

1:00pm                Construction, Energy and Auto Forecasts

• Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors
• Bernard Swiecki, Director of Research – Center for Automotive Research
• Other Speakers TBA

1:45pm                NexGen Youth Steering Committee Program with Presentation of NexGen Leadership Award

• Phil Bell, President – Steel Manufacturers Association
• The NexGen Community Leadership Team

2:30pm                Break: Sponsored by Midwest Materials

2:50pm                Steel & Commodity Price Forecasts

• Timna Tanners, Managing Director, Equity Research – Wolfe Research
• Josh Spoores, Principal Analyst – CRU Group
• Other Speakers TBA

3:20pm                Fireside Chat with Mark Millett, President & CEO – Steel Dynamics, Inc

4:30pm                 Networking Reception: Sponsored by Fifth Third Commercial Bank

Day 3: Wednesday, August 24, 2022

8:30am                 Opening Comments & Announcements

• John Packard, Founder and former President & CEO – Steel Market Update
• Michael Cowden, Senior Editor – Steel Market Update

8:45am                 Service Center Panel

• John Ganem, CEO – Kloeckner Metals
• Eddie Lehner, President & CEO – Ryerson Holding Corporation
• Pam Hedlund, President – Mill Steel

9:45am                 Break: Sponsored by Priefert Steel

10:05am              Dr. Alan Beaulieu – ITR Economic Forecast

11:00am               Fireside Chat with Alan Kestenbaum, CEO – Stelco

12:00pm               Lunch: Sponsored by Priefert Steel

1:00pm                 Decarbonization & Carbon Credits

• Phil Bell, President – Steel Manufacturers Association
• Kevin Dempsey, President & CEO – AISI
• Other Speakers TBA

1:45pm                 Automotive and the Move to Electric Vehicles

• Speakers TBA

2:30pm                 Close of Conference

The full agenda will also be available on the conference website: https://events.crugroup.com/smusteelsummit/home

If you would like to register for the conference click here.