2 minute read
Industry Partner Spotlight
The beautiful desert venue of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess was the setting for the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association’s (ILMA) 68th Annual Meeting, Partner. Collaborate. Engage! The attendance was another huge success with 1,078 members, prospective members and guests. This number was the second all-time best, coming close to last year’s all-time high of 1,096.
General Session Keynote Speaker Mark King was funny and engaging. The former TaylorMade Golf/ adidas CEO shared his remarkable corporate turnaround story that saw the company grow from $300 million to nearly $2 billion in sales in a 13-year period, at a time when the customer base was flat and the world economy challenging. King’s story of building a corporate culture that fosters innovation and excellence was inspiring.
Numerous Networking Opportunities
As always, the networking opportunities could not be beat, with several receptions, the “Breakfast of Champions” highlighting Sunday’s sports tournaments and a special lunch session featuring American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers’ (AFPM) president, Chet Thompson.
Thompson held more than 200 members spellbound as he shared his challenges leading AFPM in the current political environment which favors (not to mention
subsidizes) “renewable” energy sources and almost has contempt for traditional energy providers. Some ILMA members wanted to commit on the spot toward his initiative to change the dialogue on the role of American oil and gas companies in the economy and in creating a better standard of living in our country and around the world.
Family Business and Industry Sessions
This year’s industry sessions were particularly impressive and included a panel discussion on “Obsolete Oils and Multivehicle Transmission Fluid: Headed to Extinction?” Also on the program: “New Developments in the Global REACH Landscape: Asia-Pacific and Beyond;” “The Evolving Business Dynamics of the Lubes Industry;” “Understand the Economics of Pouches and Global Trends;” and, “U.S. Base Oil Pricing Mechanisms in a Global Base Oil World.”
Andrew Keyt, executive director of the Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center, gave a superb presentation for the Family Business Session about “Myths & Mortals: Family Business Leadership and Succession Planning.”
In Closing – A New President!
Frank H. Hamilton III, ILMA’s 2015-2016 president handed over the gavel to 2016-2017 president Beth Ann Jones at the closing President’s Dinner. Jones was happy to continue a family tradition — her sister Leslie had been ILMA’s 1999-2000 president! And she is eager to work on moving ILMA’s new strategic plan forward and continuing the great success earned by Hamilton and his predecessors.
