Image Source: IELA.org

“There is no other forum that provides the mix of networking via social events and 1-2-1 meetings, as well as education and new opportunities.”

Stephen Barry – TWI Group Inc, US

INTERFLOW Logistics is delighted with the role that its success on the world stage has played in Ireland’s being chosen to host the 31st Congress and 5th Partnering Event of the International Exhibition Logistics Association (IELA) at the end of this month.

These events will see the main players in the global exhibitions and events sector converge on the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin, from June 25 to June 30, 2016.

Barely over half a decade ago, in 2010, Interflow Logistics was an early-stage startup, coordinating freight for small-scale shows at hotels and convention centres in Ireland. Fast forward to 2016, and Interflow Logistics is the Congress host member, welcoming 400 delegates from 55 countries to Dublin for this red-letter day in the calendar of the global exhibitions and events industry.

IELA is a worldwide trade association dedicated to upholding and enhancing the professionalism of the transportation logistics and freight-handling segments of the $5.4-trillion global exhibition and event industry.

That Interflow Logistics is a member of IELA is one indication of the Irish firm’s industry-leading reputation. That Ireland has been chosen to host the 2016 congress and partnering event for the first time is an emphatic endorsement of the success attained by Interflow Logistics globally within a short time.

Managing Director of Interflow Logistics, Niall Thompson, spoke to Vincent Wall on Newstalk Breakfast about the significance of global partnerships in the growth of Interflow Logistics, and he’s keen to see attendees in Dublin benefit as much as Interflow Logistics has done from the linkages that the Congress and Partnering event facilitate.

Image Source: IELA.org

“The only way to expand in this business is to build global partnerships,” Niall told the Newstalk Breakfast host. “When we started out in 2010 we were doing very small shows in hotels and convention centres, and that grew, through the partnerships we formed.”

This is networking and relationship-building on a global scale, and Dublin will create a typically welcoming forum for the representatives of the sector to meet with one another for six days at the end of the month.

The Congress alone (June 25-28) includes the formal General Assembly, with reports from the IELA Board; the eagerly anticipated Working Group Sessions, a series of discussions and debates on key aspects of exhibition and event industry (with results to be presented during Congress); a number of keynote speakers who will provide an expert overview of significant trends within the industry; as well as a gala dinner where annual awards, based on the IELA Standards Survey that benchmarks association members’ standards, are presented.

Two full days (June 29-30) are devoted to the Partnering Event, which will see the delegates, encompassing new starts and major players, general service and niche solutions providers, engaged in focused, intensive networking and brainstorming. On June 29, activities will be based in and around the host hotel, the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel. On June 30, there will be a choice of activities, including informal networking at the event hotel; a trip to a golf tournament at The K Club Golf Resort; or a tour to the fairground at the Convention Centre Dublin & Croke Park Stadium.

Stephen Barry of the US-based TWI Group Inc, perfectly summed up the significance of the occasions when he remarked of the 2015 IELA Conference and Partnering events, “There is not other forum that provides the mix of networking via social events and 1-2-1 meeting, as well as education and new opportunities.”

Full details of ticketing for the IELA 31st Congress and fifth Partnering Event are available here.