by Frances Baskerville*
After the much needed summer of glorious sun here in the UK, Autumn creeps in and we are all thinking about our electricity bills and what the winter has in store for us. Meanwhile, reflecting on the past few months I can honestly say that the Secretariat here at CIRM has never been busier.
For a small NGO, working ‘In Consultation to the International Maritime Organization’ we certainly do our stuff, making sure that our points are heard and that there is full access for the regulators into our expertise on bridge technology. If you need to know all about VDRs, integration, inclinometers – you name it and just ask us!
And talking of technology, SMM this year was just as great as it ever was. A very different feel to Posidonia of course, but there was much parity with the buzz and real excitement of seeing old friends and new again. There were a lot of CIRM member stands spread throughout the Halls but the main attraction for us has always been Hall B6, as ever crammed with innovation and intrigue.
It’s interesting to see the patterns of work change. There is less time to speak, more urgency to seal a deal and more standing up! Some stands that were traditionally very big have shrunk and have little furniture. Others are as opulent as ever and of course, the cocktail hours started at three-ish and continued – every day! Quite a bit of loud music and showmanship was evident. But was this all achieving desired goals? I couldn’t really tell; some complained of poor footfall, others said the show was super busy. Time will tell how it all translates into business improving. I heard so many times discussions on the issue over access to – or lack of – component parts. This is becoming a very serious problem to manufacturers and service companies. I’ve written about this before but now it seems the situation is even worse. CIRM is working on how to raise awareness at the right agencies and find solutions fast.
As usual, our team was well received and there were promises of memberships to come. That’s always the case and perhaps it is generous to say that a 50% success rate is usually achieved with recruiting new companies at these shows. Honestly it is more like 20% that sign up which is still a success in today’s market. We have seen a drop in membership during the last two years (Hmm, I wonder why?) but we are back on the up which is surely heartening.
Registrations for our upcoming conference in Malta are extremely healthy and so, if you would like to join us, please get in touch. You need to be a member but, if you have something really exciting to say, we might make an exception and squeeze you in. 17 – 20 October 2022 Hilton Hotel, St Julian’s https://www.cirm.org/meetings/annual-conference-2022.html
*Frances Baskerville is Senior Vice-President at Comité International Radio-Maritime, a not for profit NGO working with member companies that manufacture, provide and service marine electronics worldwide. fb@cirm.org www.cirm.org
