I was in Brazil this past week to participate in the ISA District 4 Leadership Conference and was also able to attend the opening day of the ISA 2010 Conference and Exhibition. There were over 100 exhibitors on the show floor and 6 parallel programming tracks associated with the conference. This is an increase from last year and not only shows that the Brazilian economy is picking up but also that at least in Brazil, the horizontal show is not finished. The event had booths from the majority of the global suppliers including Yokogawa, Honeywell, Siemens, and Schneider. Traffic was quite steady during the day I was there and in several cases I had to return more than once to a booth to speak to specific individuals. Complete details on the event can be found at http://www.brazilautomation.com.br/.
Prior to the ISA 2010 event I was also honoured to participate in the District 4 Leadership Conference with other leaders from across South America to discuss the future of the industry in that part of world. I was very impressed not only with the enthusiasm of those present but also with the fact that there were several young people both male and female at the event. A VERY GOOD sign for the future. District Vice President Mattiazzo selected a location that also had several venues for ‘natural’ team building as there were lots of sports facilities and walking paths where people could interact socially. One of the highlights of this side of the program was Sunday afternoon’s Brazil vs. the world football (soccer) match. Fortunately for the world there were only 3 North Americans on the team of 7 or the score would have been much worse than it was. Brazil outscored their competition almost 2:1. That evening was a boisterous bowling session until the wee hours and as a result many new friendships were formed and others renewed.
This event reminded me that when we consider ISA, we need to look at ISA as the global society that it is and remember that there are many, many good things happening in the various parts of the world to advance the automation profession, all you need to do is find them. Thank you everyone who works so hard to make our profession better through your efforts.
Dates for the ISA 2011 event are November 8 – 10, 2011 so put them on your calendar now.
