The latest news from 17 ABC, Malaysia • September 19-22, 2017
A Batteries International publication
17 ABC Opens With Rousing Speech in Call for Clarity Chairman Stirs Industry With Appeal for Clearer Thinking
n Scenes from an Exhibition — a look around the first day of the conference in images and soundbites. Pages 10, 11 n Photos from the PreConference Cocktail Party. Page 13
It proved a lively start for a fascinating morning with interesting presentations emerging from analysts Neil Hawkes from CRU and Farid Ahmed from Wood Mackenzie. Hawkes’ thesis answered a question that has been troubling the market for some time — how much refined lead production could be constrained by tighter flows of raw material feed. In particular he showed that
the general trend, where the market surplus of lead moved into imbalance was due to the fact that consumption had been growing at a slightly faster place than production and this had been due to slower global refined production growth in the 2010s. Put at its most simple, these trends will be behind further increases in the price of lead, though as ever certain caveats will apply.
Appointment of Dry by BCI Heralds First Steps of North American Comms Campaign Battery Council International announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it had appointed Lisa Dry as its director of strategic communications, marking the active start of its communications campaign, the Advancing
n Giess Wins International Lead Award at 17ABC— The International Lead Award was yesterday (Wednesday) presented to Herbert Giess, long-time veteran lead researcher in the opening morning of the conference. It was a highly popular choice. Pages 6,7 n Hammond Offers PreConference Tour of Royal Selangor Pewter Museum. Page 8
By Mike Halls The 17ABC opened yesterday (Wednesday) morning with a bang as chairman Mark Stevenson laid down the ground rules for this, the 31st year of the ABC conference. “One of the main themes running through all our discussions this year,” he said, “should be how it’s a time for clarity, a time to develop a new path and time to see where we stand and where we see the forces opposing the lead acid industry are gathering.” In an uncharacteristic sweeping judgement, he dismissed large parts of the electric vehicle movement as a “huge misdirection for the energy storage world” and consisting of “a series of rash promises, that time will show, may never be fulfilled.”
What’s News
Lead Batteries Communications Initiative. “The aim of the ALBCI is a move to target decision makers and those that influence them across government and industry,” says Mark Thorsby, head of BCI.
WWW.BATTERIESINTERNATIONAL.COM
“The initiative seeks to raise awareness of the importance of lead batteries, as well as inform and educate stakeholders on the need for continued investment in
n A Farewell to Academician Pavlov — the much admired and much loved scientist passed away at the end of last month. Page 14 n In-depth Review of the 5th International Secondary Lead Conference. The price of scrap is now the deciding factor in the price of lead. A complementary agenda. Pages 16, 17 n The Last Word — Tales of darkness and distress as Sorfin’s superb marketing plan brings out the worst side of the lead battery industry, more talks of the Secret Alpha/Beta society in its recruitment drive and why Bali looks set to host 18ELBC in September 2019. Pages 18,19
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