This Sunday marks one month to go before the 2nd Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum starts in Melbourne on Wednesday 13th September. The APFI Forum will host more than 250 delegates from across the country and overseas, who will hear from a range of prominent speakers and will meet with over 40 exhibitors over two full days.
Run by ACAPMA for our industry, the aim of the 2017 Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum is to provide access to leaders with information that is valuable for business management and planning purposes.
“We appreciate that everyone in our industry is flat out managing their own businesses and that time taken out for an international conference is always challenging”, said ACAPMA CEO Mark McKenzie.
Topics and speakers for this year’s event have been selected on the merits of high-level, impartial advice on hot topics that have been impacting our industry this year.
The opening plenary session this year is brought to you from Craig James, Chief Economist at CommSec for Commonwealth Bank who will be providing an outlook on the economy and how that relates to businesses within the downstream petroleum industry. Craig James keeps a keen eye on the fuel retail and distribution sector and submits a weekly report which is published on ACAPMA’s news website www.acapmag.com.au.
We then have Dr. David Swanton, the Director of Fuel Quality Standards Section of the Department of Environment and Energy to narrow down on the proposed changes to fuel quality standards in Australia and what this would mean for our industry. This session is a great chance to ask your questions of the Department directly.
Hot news this week is the ACCC’s statement of issues on BP’s proposed acquisition of Woolworths’ petrol sites. Hear directly from Rod Sims, Chairman of the ACCC at the Forum on fuel price transparency and retail industry competition.
Alan Cadd of Informed Sources will then take the stage to discuss the multitude of compulsory fuel price reporting schemes and the impact this is really having on business and the end-customer.
After lunch on the first day, the Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum splits into two streams, with the first ever Contractors Forum being held on the trade hall floor for technical staff, equipment and service providers to launch and discuss the ACAPMA Best Practice Guidelines which have been worked up on the issues of UPSS maintenance, biofuels storage, stormwater management and vapor recovery.
The conference hall will kick off after lunch with an overview of biofuels in the Australian transport fuels mix. This session is presented by Mike Cochran of APAC Biofuels Consultants who will provide a comprehensive review and analysis of all significant commercial and policy developments in the Australian biofuels industry over the past 12 months.
Draeger Safety Pacific will provide a short session of fuel storage site safety and how we are all responsible for keeping ourselves and our staff safe on-site.
Donaldson then provide an overview of fuel filtration for distributors, with specific regard to emissions regulation, the challenges and limitations of modern filtration and worldwide fuel charter cleanliness expectations.
After the afternoon tea break, Kevin Hughes of HEH Consultancy and Ross Lake of Tasco Petroleum will take us through a brief history of fuel distribution in Australia and how the industry has evolved through the times of APADA and now ACAPMA.
The final session for day one is to propose the formation of a new Association – this time for Lubricant Manufacturers. The proposed Australian Association of Lubricant Manufacturers is designed to champion the interests of the Australian Lubricants industry with a specific focus on the need to ensure that Lubricants are manufactured to meet international specifications that are clearly disclosed to the market in the form of a product standard.
Day two is kicked off with freshly commissioned research on consumer attitudes research from Survey Matters. This research will delve into the reason why consumers choose one service station over the other, and the answer isn’t always what is expected!
Natalie James the Fair Work Ombudsman is then coming to speak on employment law compliance. This has recently been one of those brand-tarnishing issues that it is necessary to get on top of, and Natalie James will be providing information on how to do just that.
A sad story earlier this year and passion for change from the industry has created a panel discussion on staff safety and site security. This panel will discuss strategies for target hardening across the board, not just to pass the issue from one site to another.
Next up the Forum has HWL Ebsworth lawyers, Arthur J Gallagher insurance brokers and the CEO of COSBOA on the stage to share industry experience of cyber threats, emerging trends, directors’ obligations and ultimately strategies for making your business secure.
The trajectory for electric vehicles in Australia is the penultimate session with Behyad Jafari, CEO of Electric Vehicles Council who will be talking to what the future of EVs look like in the country.
The last session on day two is on equity analysis of convenience retail strategies brought to you by Shaun Cousins, Executive Director of Equity Research at JP Morgan. Shaun will be talking to convenience in Australia as a growth avenue, the convenience operations for supermarkets and how a larger business stream supports fuel margins.
Finally, keep an eye out for the announcement of the Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum 2018 venue!
About the Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum
With over 250 delegates in attendance from Australia and New Zealand, the APFI Forum is specifically designed for all businesses that participate in the wholesale, retail and distribution of fuel within the Asia Pacific.
For more information on the event and to register for the event, please visit: www.apfiforum.com.
