The President writes…

I am pleased to report considerable achievements on a number of fronts due to the enormous efforts of staff and members of the Council.

New Office

The lease on our existing office expires in September and the decision was taken following last year's AGM, that if possible we would purchase our own property. At the beginning of May we made an offer on a prestigious new office being built as part of a development of 5 units in Leighton-Buzzard. This is a semi-detached building on 2 floors laid out around a central courtyard which provides carparking areas and is situated on the northern end of Vimy Road, close to Tesco's supermarket. 

It is over 30 years since I moved into my own house and  had forgotten the nightmare experience that can accompany buying a property. I am very grateful to the three members of the Building Committee, David Deacon, Robert Edyvean and Eddie Field, who moved heaven and earth to complete the contract against very tight deadlines. It was also reassuring to have Ian Bacon as our solicitor to safeguard our rights and provide expert advice throughout the process. 

The accommodation is open-plan at present and some additional inner work needs to be done in erecting partitions, installing additional toilets and hardwiring for our computer network. We hope to move in early September, but please continue to use our present address for the time being. I understand that our telephone numbers will not need to be changed.

Edinburgh Conference.

The final preparations are underway for what promises to be one of our best ever Conferences. Full details are given in the registration 

booklet which forms a centre part of this Journal. One big change has 

been to combine the social events planned for two evenings into one big occasion. We have hired the entire Edinburgh Castle for the Wednesday evening. This will start at 19.30 when we will be piped form the main gate to the upper courtyard adjacent to the dinning area, where a Scottish buffet will be laid out together with welcoming glasses of wine. There will be an assortment of Scottish entertainment throughout the evening and beating the retreat by pipe and drum band will start around 23.00 hours. There will be conducted tours for those interested, while the rest of us can just wander and enjoy the magnificent views while tasting the  local beverage. Separate tickets can be purchased for this event and it is a wonderful opportunity for Exhibitors and local companies to invite some of their most valued clients or employees to enjoy this special experience. With such a large castle there is no limit to the numbers attending. 

I am also looking forward to welcoming the entire Board of Nace 

International to Scotland and I am most grateful to Dr. Iba Al-Adel, 

their President, for his personal support of this Conference. Thanks are also due to the many sponsor who are financially supporting this  event. The Conference itself covers ever aspect of corrosion and will provide a world-world view on recent developments. Please take time to look at the programme.

Branches

Last month I had the pleasure to attend the North-West Branch AGM and a Scottish Branch Committee meting. I appreciated the opportunity of 

meeting such active members and I am very encouraged by their enthusiasm and commitment. Both Branches have an exciting Programme for this coming year (See page 5) and deserve every help that local members can give. 

Science Council

On the National Scene the Institute has taken a big step forward by 

being accepted as a Full Member of the Science Council. I am grateful to Dr Jim Burnell-Gray, for taking the lead role in achieving this. I hope a feature article in the next edition will expand on the significance of this development. 

Engineering Council

We are also well down the road towards Affiliate membership of the 

Engineering Council. Audit / visits to Head Office appear to have been satisfactory and we await the outcome of the recommendations to be placed before their next Full Council Meeting. Steve Barke has completed his dissertation entitled "The Institute of Corrosion - Survival in the 21st Century" as part of a MBA from the management Centre. this has been a superb management appraisal across the Institute and we will benefit from many of his findings and recommendations. Steve hopes to publish the results of his Questionnaire in the next edition of this Journal and provide a more in-depth version for circulation to Branch Chairman

Our Sustaining membership has started to grow with benefits to the companies, the Institute, Branches and the Journal itself. The source guide at the back of this issue has been reorganised and expanded. I look forward to many more of our loyal companies becoming Sustaining Members.

Journal Management Meeting

At a recent meeting Alan Taylor agreed to take over the Institute's coordination of this Journal and Bob Akid plans to display relevant parts of the Journal, especially the job adverts, on the Institute web-site. I am grateful to Alan and Bob for their time and interest and I am sure that both will be of great benefit.

Thank-you to everybody for supporting the Institute,

John T. O’Shea, President.