The British Stainless Steel Association (BSSA) met at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham in May 2023 for their annual conference and dinner.
Having attended the last four BSSA annual conferences and this year’s Food and Beverage Industry event (link to article), it was great to catch up with familiar faces from the industry and new members at their first event.
This event was another success, with a good mix of content, conversation, and an informal vibe. Discussions centred around current affairs for the sector including energy, green steel, and current steel pricing & forecasts amongst others, with decarbonisation being one of the big talking points.
I had the opportunity to take a speaker slot this year and spoke about the opportunities social media can bring to metal and engineering businesses that may ordinarily shy away from posting online. I have added a version of this presentation that I gave a few weeks later at the NASS Summer Gathering here (link). Take a look for an overview of my thoughts, and some examples of how to get the best out of your online efforts.
The value of the event is enhanced by the quality of the delegates in the room, and by the conversations during the conference and in post-conference dinner.
Speaking with many of the members, it is clear that the association is well supported. Rob and the entire board of directors are doing a great job with the association.
Potential development could be achieved by increasing membership numbers amongst end users and fabricators. This would be a great addition to the association who’s core membership is Steel Mills and U.K. Stockholding companies.
The benefit of getting more OEMs, fabricators and engineering companies in the room is that it would give a fuller discussion of what is happening in the market, and capture the attention of current members looking to develop business with these potential customers.
Another area that has been discussed over recent years at this event, and is of particular interest to us, is the NEXT generation in the Stainless Industry. The BSSA along with its members is a great vehicle for promoting the sector to younger professionals looking to begin their careers in an industry.
There has also been talk of adding more events to the BSSA calendar in the form of smaller regional meet ups to increase the amount of interaction with group members who may not travel to the annual Midlands based event. Physical as well as online meetings would be a welcome edition for members, and the smaller regional events could be hosted by members to further promote the BSSA and welcome more into the association.
It will be interesting to see how the association develops over the coming years.
Finally, it was great to hear current Chair, Kirsty Davies-Chinnock speaking so passionately about her time as Chair of the BSSA. We look forward to Vice Chair, Darren Moult officially taking over as Chair at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the 5th October 2023 at the National Metal Forming Centre (link)
Kirsty will remain on the Board of Directors at the BSSA.
For more information on the AGM, please contact the BSSA directly, or use this link.
