Activities & Events
Activities of ISSF Committees
ISSF has four Standing Committees. The Committees consist of stainless steel experts from around the world. Most committee members are drawn from ISSF's member companies, although external experts are also called in to provide advice. The committee members meet regularly. The committees act as steering groups for the ISSF projects.
Committee on Market Development
Promotion and market development have been the most important functions of ISSF since its establishment in 1996. The cornerstones of ISSF's market development policy are knowledge and information. ISSF aims to grow the overall market for stainless steel and promote the use of this high-value material. This goal is achieved through education (of both stainless specialists and the general public) and by promoting stainless steel and its potential applications to decision-makers.
Committee on Health and Environment
Health concerns and environmental protection are some of the most pressing issues facing the world today. ISSF is committed to assess the environmental and health impact of the manufacture and use of stainless steel. This information is passed on to the stainless steel community worldwide so that ISSF Members can deliver fact based, coherent messages to local regulators, customers and project partners.
Committee on Economics and Statistics
ISSF is the voice of the world stainless steel industry, ensuring that its views are represented in a forceful, coherent and coordinated way to policy makers, business interests and the general public. Accurate and up-to-date information and statistics are essential tools to achieve this aim. ISSF collects detailed economic and statistical data on the stainless steel sector. The information is disseminated to ISSF Members, to the industry, and to the general public via media contacts around the world, the worldstainless.org website, and the Worldstainless Extranet.
Committee on Long Products
The Long Products Committee focuses on product specific issues. This includes market statistics and market development activities for Long Products. Both of these areas require products specialists in the committee and cannot easily be handled by any of the other committees. The Long Products Committee cooperates with other ISSF committees for stainless steel or product-neutral issues (such as health & environment, general statistics and certain market sector analyses). Long Products is the newest ISSF committee. It was formed in May 2006.
Annual Conference
The Annual Conference of ISSF is held each year in May. The Conference brings together the heads of the world's major stainless steel enterprises and national and regional associations. Approximately 90 Chairmen, Chief Executive Officers and other Senior Managers of ISSF member companies attend.
ISSF conferences have been held in:
ISSF-1 Seoul, Korea 1997
ISSF-2 Madrid, Spain 1998
ISSF-3 Pittsburgh, USA 1999
ISSF-4 Yokohama, Japan 2000
ISSF-5 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2001
ISSF-6 Sun City, South Africa 2002
ISSF-7 Berlin, Germany 2003
ISSF-8 Seoul, Korea 2004
ISSF-9 Helsinki, Finland 2005
ISSF-10, Louisville, KY, USA 2006
ISSF-11, Kyoto, Japan 2007
The next Annual Conference will be held in Paris, France in May 2008