The two-day Valve World Mexico Conference in March 2020 was attended by flow control leaders from across the globe, including Latin America, North America and Europe. Mechanical Engineers, Valve Subject Matter Experts and Procurement Managers were amongst the various professionals that shared their knowledge and discussed their experiences during the event, including representatives from Bray; Cameron, a Schlumberger company; Xanik; Wörchester; and Walworth, all of which were sponsors and supporters of the event.
With the conference sessions and courses held simultaneously to the tabletop displays, attendees had the opportunity to learn about the technical advances and discoveries being made in the valve industry, as well as network and discuss the new technologies and solutions available in the market. “Before the Valve World Mexico Conference, the country has not had an event like this available for our industry. Valve World Mexico is the perfect way to attract new customers and new end users,” said one vendor at the event.
“After speaking to some of the end users at this event, it is clear that there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to valve applications. With the presence of Valve World here in Mexico, it gives the manufacturers the chance to educate the operators in the industry so they can properly select the valves for their specified applications,” another vendor explained.
A Dynamic Conference Experience
Both days of the event opened with a keynote presentation. Day one saw Mechanical Engineer and Consultant, Davi Sampaio Correia, who made the interactive presentation ‘Block Valves: What I Wish I Knew Before I Started’. The presentation highlighted Correia’s two-pronged strategy for understanding block valves, which included a focus on the principles of sealing, and a demonstration of the consequences of these principles for the operation and troubleshooting of gate, ball, globe and butterfly valves. Companies including Walworth and Bray donated small valves to be used during the keynote session, which allowed the audience to follow along with Corriea as he took the valves apart and demonstrated how each one worked.
The keynote presentation on the second day featured RFS Compliance Solutions Environmental Consultants, Bronson Pate and João Carlos R. S. Vitorino, who discussed ‘The Implementation of Fugitive Emission Programs with Cost Savings and ROI’.
“I had the opportunity to sit in on the keynote presentation on fugitive emissions and it was very enlightening to hear that a consultant is able to propose a solution for Latin America,” said one conference attendee. “It allowed for the audience to see that there is not just the environmental aspect to be considered when implementing fugitive emission programs, but there is also an economical aspect that will help companies’ bottom lines; that was key.”
After a brief coffee break that gave attendees the opportunity to visit the Tabletop Display Hall and meet representatives from leading valve manufacturing companies, the conference portion of the event split into three different workshop sessions.
On day one, the Fugitive Emissions Workshop featured representatives from IMV Services and RFS Compliance Solutions who discussed topics including sealing technologies available for low emissions, the consequences of low emissions for valve performance and current fugitive emission standards.
The Control Valves Workshop featured a representative from Bray who discussed the history of the control valve, demystified the use of rotary valves and explored how to use the intelligence of control valves.
The Oil & Gas Workshop gave attendees the opportunity to delve into an important sector in the Mexican valve market from both a manufacturer and end user’s perspective. With a representative from Cameron, a Schlumberger company, and a former Petrobras valve subject matter expert, the Oil & Gas Workshop explored the next generation of ball valve technology for offshore applications.
On day two, the Valve Selection for Critical Applications Workshop saw a room packed with attendees, where a former Petrobras valve subject matter expert, and a Sesto Valve representative taught the audience how to manage risks when selecting valves for critical applications. The presenters expressed common operator concerns and presented case studies that focused on various valve applications.
The Valve Design Workshops saw representatives from Bray, Xanor de México and FLOCONX, all of whom discussed the different variables required today to be successful in the complete design of a valve by looking into the solutions that are currently available on the market.
Finally, the Testing & Maintenance Workshop, led by Walworth representatives, gave the audience a look into the testing and maintenance needed for various valve applications.
Once the conference sessions came to a close, attendees had the opportunity to attend the courses, ‘Fast-Track Valve Essentials’, taught by Bray representative João Guilherme Cabrera on day one, and ‘Understanding Fugitive Emissions Pertaining to Valves’ taught by RFS Compliance Solutions’ Bronson Pate and João Carlos R. S. Vitorino, on the second day.
Overall, both the conference workshops and the courses received positive feedback, “There was a lot of high-quality, technical material available to those who attended the show,” one conference attendee described. “Companies that participated in the conference workshops did not just show their products, they presented whitepapers showing people ‘How To’, which was very educational. It is for this reason that engineering firms send their operators to shows like Valve World Mexico.”
Networking in the Tabletop Display Hall
Throughout the two-day event, visitors of Valve World Mexico had the chance to speak to leading local and international valve company representatives. The Tabletop Display Hall saw 20 vendors who took the opportunity to speak to new potential customers and maintain relationships with current customers. “Mexico has not had a ‘meeting point’ event yet, which is why I think Valve World Mexico will work to attract new customers and operators,” explained one vendor. “The event has been very interactive, and I have had the chance to speak to many new clients. Valve World Mexico has given our company the potential to grow our business,” another vendor commented.
Many international vendors explained that Mexico had become a major potential market, but they never had the opportunity to venture to the country to explore the possibilities. Valve World Mexico acted as that first step, and gave manufacturers the chance to show operators in Mexico, the tools and technology that is currently available. “Operators need to be aware of what is available in the marketplace and the different technologies being used today,” one vendor said. “Companies are constantly changing their products and bringing new technologies to the forum; the opportunity to not only bring these new products to the Mexican market, but to also explain so that end users can understand what the rest of the world is operating with at this moment in the various sectors, is so important to us.”
Join Us for Valve World Mexico Conference 2021!
Based on the positive feedback received during and after the event, the Valve World Americas team has decided to make the Valve World Mexico Conference our first annual event. Taking place on March 10th and 11th in 2021, Valve World Mexico Conference 2021 will once again, take place at the Sheraton Mexico City Maria Isabel Hotel.
There are currently opportunities available for:
– Main Sponsorships
– Lunch Sponsorships
– Coffee Sponsorships
– Pen Sponsorships
– Bar Sponsorships
– Ice Cream Sponsorships
– Lanyard Sponsorships
– Course Sponsorships
– Conference Room Sponsorships
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for the 2021 event or have any inquiries regarding the Tabletop Displays, please contact Account Manager, Nilton Goes at +1 (647)-998-7030 or n.goes@kci-world.com.
If you are interested in participating as a speaker in a 2021 Conference Workshop, or have any feedback on the workshop sessions that were available at the Valve World Mexico Conference 2020, please contact Conference Coordinator, Catarina Muia at +1 (647)-992-7030 or c.muia@kci-world.com.
To all vendors, speakers and attendees involved in the Valve World Mexico Conference 2020, the Valve World Americas team would like to extend our gratitude in supporting and participating in the event, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2021!