Activities Report

‘Engagement is key’

Here at the BVAA we believe networking is imperative to business success.

The BVAA delivers services designed to put the Association’s members at the forefront, to meet their bespoke needs with a focus on the provision of large networking and desktop events. The benefits of networking extends beyond just knowledge sharing and can result in quality leads and opportunities.

Even if not resulting in direct leads, simply engaging with someone in a similar field of work can be extremely beneficial to learn and avoid some of the common pitfalls they have experienced and gain a different perspective.

Our events offer the opportunity to gain exposure with quality contacts in the industry. This not only builds significant connections with those present but potentially their own subsequent network too through referrals.

Meeting face-to-face also allows for a more personable and potentially lifeong contact and having a large hub is a vital component in growing a business and you never know when that one meeting can result in a significant lead.

Desktop Exhibitions
Our Desktop exhibitions having been an ongoing success year on year. This is facilitated by our exceptional hosts who enable these to happen. The desktops continue to provide a platform for networking, knowledge and product sharing.

Exhibitions have been held at Chrysaor, Score, Fluor, Wood, SNC Lavalin, McDermott, EnQuest and KBR to name a few in 2019. Some of these events also saw record numbers of attendees with 168 visitors making an appearance to see 18 exhibitors at the Wood event in Reading.

The 2020 calendar looks set to continue the trend of relevant, well attended and positive desktop exhibitions facilitated by the BVAA and hosted by industry giants. What do you need to do to make sure you don’t miss these events? The desktop exhibitions are exclusive to our members so to ensure you don’t miss out simply contact the Secretariat and ensure you are on the mailing list. It’s really that simple.

IVS
The Industrial Valve Summit held in Bergamo, Italy brings together all decision makes involved in valve technologies and flow control solutions.

The event is hosted biannually and saw an impressive turnout of 10,753 visitors over the two-day event.

The BVAA team were pleased to see a large proportion of members in attendance at the exhibition (around 20). The team hope to attend again at the next show on May 26/27th 2021 given the success of the last show.

Spring Conference
The BVAA Spring Conference delivered a vast array of incredibly informative guest speakers on a variety of useful and exceptionally diverse topics. The event also provides lively and enjoyable entertainment, networking opportunities aplenty, and a delicious dinner all delivered in the stunning surroundings at Formby Hall. The following day was again focussed on networking during a round of golf on Formby’s fabulous 18 hole championship course. This offered the opportunity to build connections in glorious sunshine.

Offshore Europe
It was fantastic to meet so many members at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen. The event was held in the brand new P&J Live events facility which offered 48,000 Sqm of exhibition space.

It offered visitors and exhibitors alike opportunities to connect with a global network of 36,000+ attendees. We hope to see all of our members again when it comes around again in 2021!

80th AGM
The BVAA AGM this year was held at Rudding Park in Harrogate. This year was a particularly special one for the BVAA being its 80th year. The meeting in the day delivered standout presentations from our three guest speakers which included:

• Tim Guest, BVAA Vice Chairman who covered: ‘Networking – Make the most of your time out of the office.’
• Tomas Karger, Canadian Patent Attorney and Associate with Marks & Clerk LLP who presented on: ‘Patenting Process and Protecting Intellectual Property in Global Markets.’
• Richard Bartlett MIEx, Director of Business Development, The Institute of Export & International Trade covered: ‘Customs Documentation & Logistics in a Brexit Environment.’

The evening saw a huge number of attendees, in fact it was the BVAA’s second highest ever, reaching 130 in total. The evening dinner was followed by some excellent entertainment from The Red-Hot Chilli Pipers giving a number of classic pop hits a Scottish twist. Then people could hit the dancefloor to a range of upbeat music performed by the Rollercoaster band.

We would like to again extend our gratitude to our generous AGM Sponsors without whom this event would not be possible. There’s fuller coverage of the BVAA’s 80th annual general meeting in the BVAA news section of this issue of Valveuser.

Published: 18th February 2020