THE INDEPENDENT Liquid Terminal Association's annual conference and trade show keeps getting bigger and better. This year's event drew the largest attendance and boasted the largest trade show. It was also the venue for the first presentation of the new ILTA Safety Award Program.
The ILTA's 27th Annual Conference and Trade show was held June 11-13 in Houston, Texas. Total attendance for the event was 3,050 participants, and 223 US and international exhibitors displayed their products and services.
Floating roofs in storage tanks were a major focus of this year's conference. The conference began on June 11 with a panel of experts discussing the operational considerations, management implications, and air emissions issues of storage tank floating roof landings. Other sessions covered floating roof design requirements, safety considerations, and equipment selection criteria.
Another program track targeted renewable fuels and their impact on storage terminal operations. Featured speaker Merrill Kramer of Chadbourne & Parke LLP reviewed renewable fuels investment trends and growth prospects. Other speakers discussed biofuels handling and blending issues and fire risks posed by ethanol.
A highlight of the conference was the inaugural presentation of the newly established ILTA Safety Excellence Awards. The data used to calculate outstanding safety performance came from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Form 300A. Winners were selected on the basis of a safety record of less than one injury per 100 workers in 2006. Eleven storage terminal operators received the first Safety Excellence Awards.
ILTA also recognized the safest of safe with its Platinum Safety Award. Two Platinum trophies were presented: The large terminal operator trophy went to CITGO Petroleum Corp, and the small terminal operator award was earned by Motiva Enterprises-New Jersey Complex.
The ILTA 28th Annual Operating Conference & Trade Show will be held June 9-11, 2008 in Houston at the Hilton Americas-Houston and the George R Brown Convention Center.