Beltcon conferences are put together by a small but dedicated team of individuals making up the IMHC Organising Committee. Some of the people serving on this committee have been part of Beltcon since its inception in 1980; notably Adi Frittella and Dave Pitcher and others have been involved with organising the conference for decades.
moreChris Townsend was appointed Organising Secretary by the then Chairman, Adi Frittella, at the start of the planning for Beltcon 9. Over decades, there has been a succession of Chairmen. Max Schenck took over from Adi Frittella, and then came Paul Nel who was succeeded by Carlos Andrade, who in turn was succeeded by Alan Exton. Currently the Chair has passed to Jacques Swart.
Behind the scenes, planning for the next Beltcon starts right at the current conference, and takes a full two years to put together. There is a call for papers and submission of synopses by prospective speakers. The Committee works hard to maintain the Beltcon brand quality by selecting a balanced programme and prospective speakers are asked to write a technical paper that will support their presentation which then undergoes rigorous scrutiny in a peer review session.
It is this technical paper that stands for posterity after the two days of conferencing are over with past papers being placed in the public domain available for download off the website www.beltcon.org.za. The main aim of Beltcon is to disseminate conveyor-related information, not only locally, but to the global bulk materials handling industry generally. Technical papers are also often published in materials handling industry journals world-wide.
The Organisers acknowledge with thanks the major sponsor of Beltcon conferences: Brelko Conveyor Products.
The Organising Committee comprises Alan Exton, Henk Brink, Simon Curry, Adi Frittella, Wilton Monnery, Dave Pitcher, Nica Smith and Jacques Swart.
