EVEN Tropical Storm Allison and 36 inches of rain were not enough to stop or delay this year's annual meeting and trade show of the Independent Liquid Terminals Association. The events took place on schedule June 11-14 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Houston, Texas.
Allison provided a memorable footnote to the meeting and trade show, which were the final ones for ILTA President John Prokop and Administration Director E Bruce Calvert. The husband-and-wife team are retiring from ILTA at the end of this year after 27 years with the organization that they helped establish.
The storm arrived in the Houston area on June 5, but the greatest impact occurred June 8 and 9 when the storm stalled over the area and caused widespread flooding. Highways and both Houston airports were shut down. Some of the flooding continued into the week of June 10-16.
Despite all of that, most of those who registered for the ILTA meeting were able to reach the hotel. Every speaker showed up, and only one exhibitor cancelled. He was stuck in Louisiana, which also was hard hit by the storm.
International registration was third highest ever, with 259 representatives from 42 countries, and accounted for 15% of all non-exhibiting registration. That was up from 13.5% last year. The ILTA trade show was the biggest ever with 238 booths and 185 exhibiting companies.
The two-day seminar was packed with sessions covering key issues for the storage and terminaling industry. Topics included aggressive Environmental Protection Agency enforcement tactics, storage tank design and corrosion issues, and the latest developments in remote tank monitoring technologies.
Attendees had the opportunity to participate in tours of three Houston-area storage terminal operations: Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Co, Teppco Scadda Control Center, and Intercontinental Terminals Co.