- Best pre-event marketing campaign: GPI Tanks
- Most sustainable stand: JSF Aluroofs
- Best stand entertainment: Techflow Marine
- Best newcomer: BETA Industrie
- Best stand: Walter Tosto-Maraldi
The best StocExpo yet…
On 14-16 March in Rotterdam, the Tank Storage Magazine team, along with organiser Easyfairs, held the StocExpo conference and exhibition. The leading event brought together a whole host of terminal professionals and industry experts looking to connect with each other and share exciting new innovations.
A YEAR OF FIRSTS
With fresh branding to represent the energy transition and future fuels, this year’s StocExpo kicked off with a terminal tour of Koole Terminals’ leading Tankstorage Botlek facility in the Port of Rotterdam. Led by a representative from the port, a group of VIP delegates were shown around the port and then taken into the Koole facility. It was an exciting opportunity to learn more about how the pioneering terminal is moving towards future fuels and was hugely popular. You can read all about Koole Tankstorage Botlek in Tank Storage Magazine’s interview in the Feb/March edition.
For the first time ever, StocExpo featured two conference streams: The FETSA Tank Storage Conference and the Terminal Operations and Safety Conference. Arguably the best StocExpo ever, this edition of the event was packed with exciting, exclusive content: talks from leading terminal professionals, the debut of exciting new innovative products and an excellent opportunity for the industry to get together and network.
Job van der Kroft, director of new energies at Advario and visitor to the conference says: ‘StocExpo is a great place to see what other organisations are doing and share what we’re up to, especially in new energies. The conference has been a particular highlight.’
On top of networking drinks on the show floor and the Global Tank Storage Awards, StocExpo offered plenty of chances to network, including the delegate lounge, platinum sponsor Honeywell’s Networking Hive and the iTanks Pitchlunch, which also lent the opportunity to businesses to showcase their innovations more intimately. Voliro, for example, exhibited and spoke about its game-changing drone. Chris Udell, head of business development, Voliro, says: ‘Our drone is unique because it can stably touch surfaces at any angle to allow for ultrasound corrosion detection. In America, we’re inundated with interest, so we’re here at StocExpo to make that happen in Europe.’
CONFERENCE FOCUS
Both conference streams were highly popular, with focuses on the future of the industry, digitalisation, the energy transition and maintaining safety at terminals. Attendees enjoyed talks from industry leaders, including terminal experts from Zenith Energy, Tepsa-Rubis, LBC Tank Terminals, and more. Tank Storage Magazine’s very own editor Anamika Talwaria led the Women in Tanks panel with a focus not only on gender equality, but also finding opportunities to encourage diversity of thought within the tank storage industry. Including Kathryn Clay from ILTA, Sandra de Bont from VOTOB, North Sea Port’s Sandra De Mey, Karine Huysmans at LBC Tank Terminals and Suzan de Haan from HES International, the panel made concrete suggestions for this, from ensuring both male and female caregivers are given allowances for flexible time, to speaking at schools to draw a spotlight on the tank storage industry. It is now up to companies in the industry to listen and act to remove barriers for women and other marginalised groups.
The focus on the energy transition was evident in StocExpo’s exciting new rebrand, launched earlier this year. ‘The new branding feels fresh and different. As we move into more sustainable future fuels, the new branding design has a much more obvious nod to that future,’ says Rikki Bhachu, head of marketing for StocExpo. And with the inclusion of not one, but two hydrogen powered cars on site, industry professionals got to see first-hand how investing in future fuels might pay off later.
Another investment encouraged during the conference sessions was into digitalisation and, by extension,
cybersecurity. With a focus on different terminal automation softwares and optimising processes, it’s crucial that terminals also update their security measures to avoid a hack.
FORTY UNDER 40
The end of day one saw an exciting opportunity to network, with drinks on the show floor and the presentation of StocExpo’s Forty Under 40. The campaign showcases the rising stars of the tank terminal industry, celebrating young and new talent as the industry embraces new ways of working.
‘It feels good to be recognised as one of StocExpo’s Forty Under 40. The industry needs more young people and more needs to be done to attract them to it, so this is a really important initiative,’ says Victoria Oppenheim, head of business development at Argent Energy.
With many senior members of staff retiring or leaving the industry altogether, it’s imperative that we find new talent to carry on the legacy of our industry, and crave out new paths as we move towards a more sustainable future. The energy transition waits for no one, and it’s crucial that we involve those younger generations who will be more affected by the impact of climate change to lead the industry towards greener ways of working.
The StocExpo 2023 Forty Under 40 recognises both those with the greatest potential to become industry leaders in the future and those who have achieved greatness already in the tank storage and future fuels industry. One of the winners Jelle Swanenberg, COO of Smartflow says: ‘This is a prize that indicates the
change that’s coming.’ You can see the full list of winners here.
STOCEXPO STAND AWARDS
In the afternoon of day two, the StocExpo team handed out the Stand Awards to the stands that stood out. These stand awards were a great way to recognise the excellence of exhibitors on site.
This year’s winners are:
