Michelin executive to keynote World Rubber Summit

SINGAPORE—Luc Minguet, Michelin's chief procurement officer, will be a keynote speaker at the World Rubber Summit 2015, scheduled for March 24-25 at Singapore's EXPO Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The World Rubber Summit is being organized by the International Rubber Study Group and SingEx Exhibitions.

Minguet, who's also a senior vice president at Michelin, will provide key insights on how Michelin is putting its beliefs in “sustainable mobility” into action, the IRSG said, including outlining examples of programs and initiatives that Michelin is developing in its procurement chain to make travel more accessible and affordable.

The Summit's overall theme is: “Productivity & Sustainability for Tomorrow's Market—What drives it?”

Held under the umbrella of World Rubber Week, the World Rubber Summit 2015 will take place alongside Tyrexpo Asia, the Rubber Exchange Forum and other related industry seminars and networking receptions, the IRSG said.

Aside from the keynote speeches, the Summit will also feature several panel discussions and topical breakout sessions presented by industry leaders and subject matter experts.

Among the panel sessions topics will be:

• The Road Ahead for the Tire Industry—addressing the impact of growth in emerging markets over the next decade and how that will impact increases in vehicle ownership, countered by the focus of developed markets on environmental impact with reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

• The Future of Natural Rubber in a Bouncing World—focusing on the methods used to increase productivity of the NR-producing sector, rewarding smallholders and meeting corporate social responsibility/sustainability expectations throughout the value chain.

• Supply Chain Optimization from Tree to Tire—focusing on the importance of logistics, competition with other commodities, the impact of the relatively low value of rubber as a cargo and how to link the supply to the demand that is often oceans apart.

Confirmed speakers for the panel sessions include: Rajiv Budhraja, secretary general of India's Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association; Fazilet Cinaralp, secretary general of the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association; and Sheela Thomas, secretary general of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.

The IRSG is an organization that comprises representatives of producers and consumers from all sectors of the rubber industry, natural rubber (NR), synthetic rubber (SR), tyre sector, rubber processors, traders, financial sector, consultants etc.

SingEx Exhibitions, a subsidiary of SingEx Holdings, owns, develops and manages a series of trade exhibitions and conferences in various industries.