Official from world's largest windpower company to speak

The largest dedicated project freight forwarding organization in the world has agreed to hold its annual conference in Corpus Christi, July 29 – Aug 1, 2009.

Members of the Project Professionals Group, with 116 member offices in 86 countries worldwide, agreed to the Texas venue following a vote at this year’s conference held in Aarhus, Denmark, in August.

PPG general manager Kevin Stephens said Port of Corpus Christi Executive Director John LaRue had attended the Aarhus conference and provided an excellent overview of his organization’s capabilities in hosting a major international conference.

“Project Professionals Group members were impressed with a detailed briefing regarding the growth of the Port of Corpus Christi, and hotel and conference facilities in the area,” Stephens said, adding, “…members are looking forward to holding their conference for the first time in the United States, and we expect over 100 attendees from over 50 countries.”

Stephens said the four-day conference was expected to inject at least $300,000 into the South Texas economy. LaRue said the conference would be held in the Solomon Oritz International Center, a converted cotton warehouse with significant historical links to the port.

“The Port of Corpus Christi is pleased to be hosting an international conference that brings together logistics solutions providers from around the world and the opportunity to extend Texas hospitality to these delegates and their partners,” LaRue said, adding, “an industry conference such as this also provides the opportunity to showcase the expertise and development of the port to an international audience.”

Stephens and LaRue said the conference agenda would be developed over the next few months but it was confirmed that the keynote address would be given by an official from Vestas, the world's largest windpower company. The conference will also include presentations by major transport solution providers and project cargo experts, and a social program for delegates and partners to sample the region’s lifestyle.

The Port of Corpus Christi, ranked sixth in US ports in terms of total tonnage, handled 445,204 tons of breakbulk cargo in 2007.