Congress and Exhibition of the Steel Industry (CONAC) and ExpoAcero — March 2024
The AIST Mexico Member Chapter combined their two biennial industry events into one annual congress. CONAC and ExpoAcero came together this year for the 13th edition of ExpoAcero 11–13 March 2024 at the Convention Center in San Luis Potosí, N.L., Mexico.
The event hosted 127 exhibitors, more than 80 technical presentations, and drew an impressive record number of 2,700 steel producers, suppliers, end users and students in attendance. A gala dinner took place at Villa Danieli on Tuesday, 12 March 2024. ExpoAcero will return to Cintermex in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, on 24–26 March 2025. |
Congress and Exhibition of the Steel Industry (CONAC) — March 2023
The Mexico Member Chapter hosted the Congress and Exhibition of the Steel Industry (CONAC), their biennial conference, from 13 to 15 March 2023, at the Cintermex Convention Center in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico. The three-day conference and exposition featured technical presentations, student activities, a dinner and 86 vendor booths. The event drew a record-breaking 2,100 attendees. The gala dinner was held at the Museo del Acero Horno No. 3 industrial heritage museum in Fundidora Park on Tuesday, 14 March 2023.  |  | 1. Student attendees were excited to be at CONAC 2023, which was held 13–15 March 2023 at the Cintermex Convention Center in Monterrey, Mexico. 2. AIST executive director Ron Ashburn shared with students the benefits of joining Material Advantage at CONAC 2023. |
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Joint Webinars—March 2022
The MENA Member Chapter and Mexico Member Chapter hosted joint webinars on 23 and 24 March 2022. The theme for the two webinars was “Steel Industry From Young Professionals’ Perspectives.” The two-day event featured a total of 13 presentations from members of each of the chapters, including chapter officers and Young Professional members. There were 104 registered attendees for the webinars.
Presenters: Mexico Member Chapter treasurer Jorge Fernandez, AMI Automation. MENA Member Chapter public relations officer Adel Skawkat, Sami Soybas Steel Industry & Trade Inc. Mexico Member Chapter Young Professional chair Monserrat Lopez Cornejo, Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia. Ahmed Adel, Zamil Steel Egypt. Daniela Mendoza, Ternium Mexico. Jose Perez, Ternium Mexico. MENA Member Chapter chair Mohamed Saied, EZDK Flat Steel. MENA Member Chapter membership chair Ahmed Mansour, EZZ Steel. MENA Member Chapter women in steel committee chair Marwa Abbas, Suez University. Grecia Guevara Flores, Ternium Mexico.
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CONAC — November 2021
The Mexico Member Chapter hosted the Congress and Exhibition of the Steel Industry (CONAC), their biennial conference, on 8–10 November 2021 at the Cintermex Convention Center in Monterrey, N.L, Mexico. The three-day conference and exposition featured technical presentations, student activities, a dinner and 90 vendor booths. The event drew a record attendance of 1,700 attendees. The gala dinner was held at the Horno Alto No. 3, the industrial heritage museum in Fundidora Park on Tuesday, 9 November.
AIST executive director Ron Ashburn presented a certificate to chapter chair Robert Freites, coil coating director, Ternium Mexico, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Mexico Member Chapter, which officially celebrated the milestone in 2020.  |  |  | 1. Student attendees visited the AIST booth at CONAC 2021, which was held 8–10 November, at the Cintermex Convention Center in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico. 2. AIST’s executive director Ron Ashburn presented a certificate to chair Robert Freites, Ternium Mexico; Myrna Molina, general manager, AIST Capitulo Mexico A.C.; and the chapter committee to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mexico Member Chapter on 9 November. 3. Monserrat Sofia Lopez Cornejo, assistant professor and advisor of the student chapter at Instituto Tecnologico de Morelia; and Ron Ashburn, AIST, shared the benefits of joining Material Advantage with students at CONAC 2021. |
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Webinars— 2020
The AIST Mexico Member Chapter has hosted a series of one-hour, weekly webinars. The webinars were conducted in Spanish. The chapter has hosted 20 webinars, with an average of 45 attendees.
Presentations: “Generating Added Value Through AI,” by Marce2020lo Saparrat, Chief Innovation Officer, and Claudio Vecchiarto, Director of Operations, TechnoAp. “Overcoming the Limitations on Mass Balance Models on the Steel Industry Using Machine Learning,” by Nelson Sanchez, Modelling and Optimization Engineer, ECON Industrial Automation. “Improving the Detection of Periodical Defects in Hot-Rolled Long Products by Means of the Combination of Eddy Current and Vision,” by Ignacio Lucas, Director of Sales, Isend. “Managing and Consolidation of Meltshop Information,” by Arturo Correa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), ITSOFT. “State of the Art and Trends in the Short-Term Horizon in Circular Shears for Modern Steels,” by Felix Valdavida, Technical Engineer, Alfe Cutting. “Improving Process Diagnosis in Cold Rolling Mills Using AI,” by Marcelo Saparrat, Chief Innovation Officer, and Claudio Vecchiarto, Director of Operations, TechnoAp. “Numerical and Statistical Techniques as Design, Development and Improvement Tools in the Steel Industry,” by Maria Luisa Argaez, Data Scientist, ECON Industrial Automation. “Planning for 4.0 Industry,” by Arturo Correa, CEO, ITSOFT. “Innovative Solutions for the Steel Industry Worries,” by Jose Garcia, Industrial Technical Consultant, NALCO Water, an Ecolab Co. “Energy Efficiency in the Steel Industry Using Specialty Lubricants,” by Eduardo Taraves, Global Steel Manager, and Jonathan Cruz, Mexico — Steel Market Manager, Kluber Lubrication. “Direct Reduction Technology for a Sustainable Steel Industry,” by Jorge Martinez, Commercial Director, Tenova HYL. “Common Failures in DC Drives: How to Achieve Protection Level Class I?” by Rommel Villarreal, Drives Engineering Manager, AMI Automation. “Process Simulation as a Tool for Industry Intelligence,” by Sabrina Osorio, Administrative Director, Orcasim. “Leveling Sheet Under Tension,” by Iñaki Vazquez Ochotorena, Sarralle. “Application of Comprehensive Systems for Optimizing Recycling and Fusion of Scrap Metal in Steel Plants,” by Alberto Montenegro Correa, CEO, AMV Solutions, and Jesús Para Fernández, Director of Industry 4.0, GECSA. “SOLVE Program Integrating Health Promotion Into ILO Health and Safety Policies,” by Maria Guadalupe Quintanilla Tapia, Quality Process Developer, and Roberto Roger Rodriguez Ritte, Founding Partner, FormaTe Evaluation Center. “Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel (GIC): The Sustainable and Necessary Option Against Corrosion,” by Emmanuel Alejandro Ramirez Gutierrez, Technical Services, AMEGAC. “Benefits of On-Line Quality Measurement: EMG SOLID® (Oil Layer) and EMG IMPOC (Tensile Strength and Elastic Resistance),” by Emanual Orihuela, Key Account Manager, TechnoAp and EMG. “End-To-End Industrial Analytics — Case: Digitization of the Scrap Management and Scrap Classification Process Through Vision Analytics,” by Marcelo Saparrat, Chief Innovation Officer, and Claudio Vecchiarto, Director of Operations, TechnoAp. “Pinhole Detection,” by Christopher Burnett, Technical Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific (in English).
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 CONAC 2018: 8th Steel Industry Congress and Exhibition — March 2018
CONAC 2018 welcomed 79 international exhibiting companies and more than 1,600 attendees who shared industry experiences, new developments and products with like-minded peers.
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CONAC 2016: Steel Industry Conference and Exposition — March 2016
CONAC 2016 attracted more than 1,600 participants, including producers and end users, and 69 exhibiting companies — mainly manufacturers and suppliers from the iron and steel sector. The participants enjoyed exploring the exposition and the opportunity to learn about recent developments and innovations in manufacturing steel products. |
 AIST Mexico Chapter Celebrates 20 Years — August 2015
Members of the AIST Mexico Member Chapter gathered at Club Industrial in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, on 17 April 2015 for a dinner to celebrate its first 20 years and recognize the small group who dared to take the first steps in March 1995 to create the chapter.
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Co-Organization of the AIST Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel: 101 — June 2013
The AIST Mexico Member Chapter co-organized the AIST Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel: 101, which was held at the Hotel Safi Valle in San Pedro Garza Garcia, N.L., Mexico, on 19–21 June 2013. |
Poster Presentation — Fall 2012
The Mexico Member Chapter, along with assistance from Gruas y Maniobras Monterrey, presented framed copies of AIST’s Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel® posters to several of their supporting universities and institutions, in appreciation for their continued support of the chapter activities. |
CONAC — October 2012
The fifth Congreso y Exposicion de la Industria del Acero (CONAC) was held on 8–10 October 2012 in Monterrey, Mexico. Hosted by the AIST Mexico Member Chapter together with Mexico’s steel association Cámara Nacional de la Industria del Acero (CANACERO), CONAC has become the premier event for Mexican steelmakers and suppliers to come together. CONAC, held once every two years, continues to grow, and 2012 was no exception. This year’s event was held at the Cintermex complex in Monterrey — a change from the Centro Convex facility, where the event was previously held — as additional space was needed to make room for more exhibitors and technical sessions. The event attracted 998 attendees, an increase of 33% from the 752 attendees in 2010; and 64 exhibitors, a 45% increase from the number of exhibitors in 2010. The number of technical sessions at this year’s event more than doubled to a total of 75 and covered a wide range of topics, including steelmaking, rolling, processes and uses of steel, primary processes, maintenance and safety.
Porfirio Gonzalez, director of PMP Group and outgoing president of the Mexico Member Chapter, and Hugo Solís, industrial director of Ternium Mexico and outgoing vice president of the Mexico Member Chapter, welcomed company presidents and other guests at a VIP breakfast on 8 October. There, Solís explained that one of the main goals of the Mexico Member Chapter is to become a leading AIST Member Chapter. Ron Ashburn, executive director of AIST, gave a brief presentation on the main values of AIST — networking, education and sustainability — and some of the ways the Mexico Member Chapter can take advantage of the programs offered and supported by AIST. Leaders from companies such as ArcelorMittal, Gerdau, AHMSA and CANACERO expressed their desire to participate and help the chapter achieve a leadership status within AIST. An opening ceremony to welcome attendees featured a number of AIST Mexico leaders, including Mr. Gonzalez and Hector Morales, director of Aceroteca. Gonzalez highlighted some of the successes of the Mexico Member Chapter, including the formation of the first Mexico student chapter in 2011–2012, which currently has 250 active students. The student chapter has been involved in several events, including a professor tour of Ternium, a student visit to AHMSA, a course entitled “Arte en el alambre” (“Wire Art”), and a Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (UAEH) student visit to Ternium’s plant in Puebla. Mexico currently has great growth prospects, explained Alejandro Gonzalez, planning director for Ternium Mexico and the keynote speaker for the opening ceremony. Its economy has been growing by more than 4% annually since the global economic crisis — nearly double the world’s growth rate. The country has become a magnet for investment in the automotive industry, he explained, with Nissan, Mazda, Honda, Chrysler, Audi and GM among those automakers making investments in the major steelconsuming sector. The country’s infrastructure market is also a hot spot for steel, with some US$11 billion slated for natural gas, aqueduct and other infrastructure projects over the next five years. Gonzalez forecast that these projects will consume an estimated 1.5 million tonnes of steel products.
Gonzalez cautioned, however, that the country’s steel sector also faces many challenges — among them, the deceleration in the global economy, as well as domestic industrial promotion by governments of other countries such as the United States’ Buy America program, China’s subsidies, and Brazil and Colombia’s import tariffs. Steel imports into Mexico have been growing from NAFTA partners, as well as from South Korea, Japan and China, creating both challenges and opportunities for domestic steelmakers, Gonzalez noted. On one hand, Mexican steelmakers are competing with low-cost producers struggling with their own high capacities, high supplies and weak economies. On the other hand, the imports are creating the opportunity for Mexican steelmakers to expand their own production into other areas, such as high-strength steels, where demand is currently being met only by imports.
The AIST Mexico Member Chapter held a dinner for suppliers, steelmakers and invited guests at the Horno 3 Steel Museum at the Parque Fundidora, as in previous years. This year, however, the dinner featured dancers, singers and musicians performing traditional Mexican songs and dance. The dinner speaker was Mr. Solís, who recognized Mr. P. Gonzalez and the other AIST Mexico leaders for their initiatives, drive and charisma, which have strengthened the chapter over the last few years. He stressed he will continue to work hard as Mexico Member Chapter president to continue improving and growing the chapter. He introduced the newest members of the board: vice president Rafael Colás, director of the Center for Innovation, Research and Development in Engineering and Technology at Universidade Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL); secretary Andrés Delfino, general director of Vesuvius Mexico; and treasurer Ignacio Díaz, public relations and customer service manager for Grúas Monterrey. Also recognized at the dinner were other members who have helped and continue to help the Mexico chapter move forward. Myrna Molina Reyna, operations director for AIST Mexico, was given special recognition for her hard work and dedication to the chapter and for putting together another successful CONAC event.
Several groups of high school and university students interested in pursuing engineering degrees attended the exhibition on its final day, speaking with the suppliers, producers and other exhibiting companies about their products and services and opportunities for careers in the industry.
Two plant tours were also available for CONAC attendees: one to Ternium’s Planta Juventud, which produces galvanized and other coated steel products, and the other to Ternium’s long products Planta Norte. CONAC continues to grow each year and is the Mexico chapter’s main source of funding, allowing it to work toward its goals of: increasing support for students and young professionals through scholarships and training, promoting further chapter participation among producing and processing companies, and making the chapter a leader within AIST on the international level. On 19–21 June 2013, the AIST Mexico Member Chapter will host AIST’s The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel: 101 course in Monterrey, and in 2014, the chapter will also host AIST’s International Steel Academy. |
