The 2008 IFEAT Annual Conference took place in Montreal, Canada with attendance of over 590 delegates and 90 Accompanying Persons.
The week started with the Welcome Reception on Sunday 28th September held at The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel and as usual this was a busy event as friends and business associates met again for the first time in a year.
The theme of this year’s conference was “North America and the World: The Challenge” and Conference Co-Chairman Kim Bleimann opened the Monday morning session by welcoming delegates to the conference then the lecture programme kicked off with Developments in the Fragrance and Flavour Industries both in North America and globally. Following presentations by IFF, Symrise and Booz we were very pleased to welcome New York Times columnist Chandler Burr who gave a lively presentation on the future of naturals in perfumery.
The Monday afternoon lectures concentrated on developments in mint oils and Canadian essential oils. The first session of Tuesday morning covered the aroma chemicals sector in North America and China. This was followed by the IFEAT AGM and Business Meeting. During this AGM there was a presentation to outgoing IFEAT President Hugo Bovill by his successor Michael Boudjouk, plus presentations on the 2009 Study Tour of Italy, the 2009 IFEAT Conference in Shanghai and IFEAT supported programmes at Plymouth and Reading Universities. The session concluded with the Medal Lecture by Dr Guy Collin on aspects of Canadian essential oils and the presentation of medals to this year’s Best Students on the Reading Flavourist and Plymouth Perfumery sponsored courses – Alejandra Marambio and Anna Bindi. Tuesday afternoon concentrated on citrus oils with presentations on orange, lemon and lime oils as well as Mexican citrus oils and concluded with a discussion panel on these topics.
Tuesday night was the IFEAT Dinner which was held at the Marche Bonsecours in Old Montreal. As the venue was once the site of a marketplace the evening was themed around this with vendors selling local artisanal produce and entertainers in traditional costume. Music was provided by members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra who flew in from New York especially for the event – a real treat for the guests.
The field trip took place on Wednesday and delegates visited La Sucrerie de la Montagne, a maple syrup producing operation where they learned of the traditional methods of distilling maple as well as experiencing a full Lumberjack Breakfast! This was followed by a visit to Cedre Recyclé Marcotte a cedarleaf recycling facility and then went on to Ottawa where they had the opportunity to take part in a walking tour of the city.
Also taking place on the Wednesday was a Perfumery Workshop hosted by John Ayres and Tony Curtis of Plymouth University. This intensive full day workshop was a pilot scheme that we hope to roll out at future conferences and was aimed at giving a small group of delegates a real insight into the processes and techniques of perfumery. Feedback received indicates that it was successful in achieving its aims and was a very worthwhile session to attend.
The last day of the conference, Thursday 2nd October, included lecture sessions on REACH and other legislation followed by a REACHReady Surgery in the afternoon. The surgery was led by Jo Lloyd (Director of REACHReady) and supported by Cristina Arregui (EFFA) and Hans van Bergen (EFFEO). This interactive surgery provided the 30 delegates with practical guidance on how to implement the legislation and provided them with opportunities to quiz the experts on this critical subject for the industry.
The main session on Thursday afternoon reviewed key environmental and economic issues affecting the essential oils sector by Pierre Trahan, Rob Brown and Daemmon Reeve.
The Thursday night Closing Banquet was a spectacular evening at the Windsor Station and included a number of fantastic circus acts on both the stage and in the air. Montreal is the home of Cirque du Soleil so it seemed only fitting to base the closing event around this theme. During the evening, IFEAT Chairman Alastair Hitchen and Past President Richard Pisano presented the IFEAT Founders Award to Dr Brian Lawrence in recognition of his contribution to the industry. There were also further presentations made to the Conference Committee Co-Chairmen Katrina Neale and Kim Bleimann as well as to Pierre and Anne-Marie Trahan and Tina Yang An from Cedarome in thanks for the huge contribution that they each made towards the conference arrangements.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone involved in organising the conference. The event was once again a massive success and we have been delighted with the feedback received.
We look forward to seeing you in Shanghai!! |
