Steel Products

The 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference: What You Need to Know
Written by John Packard
February 13, 2020
The 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference: What You Need to Know
Written by: John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update
At 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 24, Steel Market Update will begin our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference. The conference will be held over three days ending around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
The agenda for the conference is the next article in tonight’s newsletter. Before you look at the agenda, here are some things you need to know:
- Conference continues to be held at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC).
- NEW: We added a brand-new hotel, which is the A-Loft located in the Gateway Center across from GICC.
- Early bookings are stronger than last year. We anticipate 1,200 attendees this year.
- Pricing is the same as 2019 – $1,395 full price, $100 per person discount for SMU/CRU members, another $100 per person for companies that send more than one person. We will also have large discounts for SMU Youth Leadership Award nominees (35 years of age or younger).
- Program begins at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24, and ends at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
- The ATL airport is 10 minutes away by free SkyTrain, which runs from GICC to terminal – no stops.
- NEW: We are including a “light lunch” at the GICC on Monday as we know the hotels get busy.
- Expanded: The exhibition area is twice as large as 2019. We are adding more seating options to enhance networking opportunities.
- NEW: Option to rent private meeting area inside the GICC, contact Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com to request details.
- NEW: On Wednesday afternoon we essentially have a “mini conference” within our conference as we tackle attracting and retaining young people into your company.
- NEW: We are looking at offering attending companies a special Wednesday-only registration option for our Wednesday program. We believe companies will want their human resources, branding and top executives to sit in on the attracting youth segments as well as Michael Smerconish, Ryan Smith of CRU and industry forecasts. We will have more on this option in the coming days.
- The agenda in tonight’s issue is not complete. We have intentionally left off breaks, lunches and you may notice some gaps in the schedule. The gaps are there on purpose as we work to complete the program by adding the appropriate speakers. Many of the speakers have been selected and confirmed. We are only showing a portion of them and will roll out the balance of the program in the coming weeks.
- This is our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference and we are looking forward to having you and your company attend what is hands-down the best networking opportunity for buyers and sellers of steel in North America. It is also the best conference agenda you will see at any conference in North America this year.
- To see the full agenda go to www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel-summit
- To register click here.

John Packard
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