Impressions from Warsaw

The second and last meeting in 2007 of the world’s number one event for the longs market, the SteelOrbis Fall ’07 Conference & 57th IREPAS Meeting, was held in Warsaw on September 9-11, 2007. 210 major industry representatives came together in the Polish capital, which has become a focal point of the world’s longs sector given the very positive developments observed in the country’s construction industry in recent years.

The SteelOrbis and IREPAS event, brings the longs sector together twice a year (autumn and spring) - a tradition begun by IREPAS and which goes back around thirty years. This year’s Warsaw event offered market players the first opportunity after the long holiday season to come together and compare notes on the latest developments in the market. 

While the IREPAS event was a small and restricted meeting in its early years, today it has become one of the most prestigious organized events for the world steel industry, now held in association with the SteelOrbis conference. 

Who was in Warsaw?

The presence of freight, finance, technology and machine industry enterprises drew a particularly positive reaction at the Warsaw event, while most participants were representing international trading companies, producers and raw material suppliers. One of the most noteworthy participants was beyond doubt London Metal Exchange (LME), which is currently preparing its new service for the steel industry. Having announced the imminent launch of the first steel billet futures contract with trading commencing in April 2008, LME chose the SteelOrbis Fall ’07 Conference and 57th IREPAS Meeting in order to inform the sector about its new departure and to answer the questions of players in the steel market.

Spotlight on London Metal Exchange

A preliminary presentation about the steel futures market - expected impatiently by all market players and the subject of much speculation as to its prospects for success - was given by LME CEO Martin Abbot. SteelOrbis America General Manager Murat Aşkın was the moderator of the panel discussion which followed, in which five independent experts exchanged views and had an interesting talk on the topic. On the one hand, the panel resolved many question marks, while on the other hand it found that the deeper it got into the subject,  the more other questions arose.  The presentation and the panel discussion provided the focus for conversations among participants afterwards. They found that the more they tried to reassemble what they were told, the more they became aware of the missing parts of the puzzle. In this way, Monday’s program drew to a close.

Welcome Cocktail and Gala Dinner

During the conference, the participants had the opportunity to learn about the latest market developments from the presentations given by market specialists, to strengthen their connections through dialogue with other participants, and also to find out more about Warsaw, one of the most attractive and exciting cities in Europe.

The event, which was held in one of the best hotels in the city, commenced with the Welcome Cocktail on Sunday. As a break from the ongoing tensions in the markets, participants found the chance to meet and converse with potential business partners in the relaxing atmosphere of the cocktail. Furthermore, at the same time as the cocktail, a fashion show was organized in an adjacent hall of the hotel. With the preparations for the show taking place in the same hall as the conference registrations, the conference registration desk was the scene of much activity and expectation. 

Apart from the cocktail held on Sunday and which lasted more than three hours, the Gala Dinner in the Belvedere Restaurant was also one of the social highlights of the conference and again allowed participants the chance to relax. The restaurant is one of the most elegant and prestigious restaurants in Warsaw, and in the past has hosted many world leaders from Clinton to Bush. It was the perfect venue to maintain the atmosphere of good cheer initiated during the Welcome Cocktail

Despite the gloomy weather and the continuous rain, no one failed to enjoy the beautiful garden restaurant. The smiling faces and interesting conversations continued throughout the dinner and afterwards as everyone headed back to the hotel lobby. While some of the participants preferred to rest in their rooms after the intensive program of the day, others went on to enjoy themselves at a later hour in the hotel lobby or else ventured out to sample some of Warsaw’s nightlife.

The committee meetings

The committee meeting format, which has now become an established part of the conferences, allowed company representatives to assemble according to their sphere of activity in closed-session meetings. In the separate closed committee meetings held on Monday by the producers, trading companies and raw material suppliers, company representatives discussed the market developments of recent months and exchanged views as to the path to be followed in the coming period.

The subjects discussed at these committee meetings were shared with all participants by the committee chairmen at a panel held on Tuesday. In this panel, moderated by SteelOrbis General Manager Murat Eryılmaz, the committee chairmen Uğur Dalbeler, Hans Jürgen Domnick and Yusuf Güven took the stage. The panel’s most significant conclusion was that the sector is likely to continue its positive trends due to the growth in the world economy and the expectations of high levels of steel consumption, in spite of the recent slowness in the markets and despite the high freight rates and raw material costs. The conference drew to a close with the end of the panel discussion.  

Sponsor stands attract great interest

Another outstanding feature of the Warsaw conference was the great number of sponsors and the stands concerning their business activities which were set up in the foyer hall. Indeed, the foyer resembled a mini-fairground, with the colorful stands, the mingling of visitors, and the attractive promotional materials being handed out by the sponsors. Having seized this chance to inform visitors about their activities and to meet potential business partners, the sponsors were among those who benefited the most from the conference.

Next rendezvous: April 2008, ISTANBUL

The announcement at the conference opening that the next event will be held in Istanbul was received with general enthusiasm. Furthermore, the April conference will be held in connection with the steel statues exhibition sponsored by Mexican producer Grupo Villacero. The prospect of meeting the participants of a separate industry event against the exciting backdrop of Istanbul perhaps pleased the foreign participants more than their Turkish counterparts, and they began to make their travel plans for the Istanbul conference before leaving Warsaw.