Super-size container ships, offshore oil & gas activity and collaborative business relationships. These were a few of the topics discussed during Tratos’ July Open Day which attracted a prominent gathering of UK cable and sector industry figures.
The event held at London’s Haberdasher Halls, attracted more than 200 UK and European delegates – despite a 24-hour RMT strike – including the Italian Consul General, Dr Massimiliano Mazzanti. The day also aimed to provide a better understanding of the culture of Tratos and its business philosophy as the company approaches its 50th year.
Those attending had a particular interest in energy and telecommunication issues and represented many industry sectors including rail and mass transit, oil & gas, renewables, ports, solar PhV; electrical contracting, consulting, construction and utilities.
Specialist seminars were held through the day with presentations by Approved Cables Initiative (ACI), British Approval Service for Cables (BASEC), Italian Chamber of Commerce, Oil & Gas UK, Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA), Project Management Institute and UK Trade & Investment (PMI).
Abigail Clark, senior business analyst from Oil & Gas UK provided a UKCS 2015 overview; Robin Hopkin from the Rail Alliance spoke about BS11000 for Collaborative Business Relationships and Ottonel Popesco, president of Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) and CEO of Cavotec SA, spoke about super-size container ships in his 2015 port activities presentation.
Maurizio Bragagni, managing director of Tratos commented: “Tratos Open Day is one of our main challenges of the year. We bring together our shareholders, customers, suppliers, friends and competitors to re-engage with us and all that makes us different. For those who don’t already know us, we hope they will go away with a better understanding of our vision and values.
“It is neither an exhibition nor a conference, as at Tratos we invite our stakeholders to enjoy our hospitality, our friendliness and gain a better understanding of the company’s true character. The London Open Day was particularly challenging this year as we shared the platform with a subject which is close to our hearts, the roles of men and women at work, brought to life on the day in the paintings of Jean François Millet.
“At Tratos it is about investing in people through better training and development in order to bring real culture change in an organisation and this is something that we have been working hard to deliver especially in the UK.
We develop innovative solutions yet we maintain our original values that are at the heart of our company. Our business model emphasises the importance of partnering with customers so that together we develop credible and innovative solutions for their needs.”
Commenting on the event, Ottonel Popesco, said: “The Tratos Open Day was an excellent venue to meet with key business players, politicians and industry associations. As PEMA president I welcomed the opportunity to present what our association is doing and to discuss on a range of topics that will shape industry going forward.”
The Approved Cables Initiative’s Peter Smeeth added: “This was a tremendous opportunity for us to provide a personal update on our work including details of a current Chinese sub-standard cable issue where product failed conductor resistance testing. Delegates heard first-hand how the threat from sub-standard cable is not receding.”