FCI Trade Summit: A Star Is Born
11 December 2008 
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The 1st Annual FCI Trade Summit brought together leaders from around the globe to Toronto, Canada.
The1st Annual Farm Chemicals International Trade Summit took flight at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto, Canada in August, and brought together key industry figures from around the globe for three days of meetings, networking, and business. Manufacturers, formulators, and distributors of crop protection and fertilizer products came to the event — the first of its kind — not quite knowing what to expect. But, since the event was hosted by Farm Chemicals International, they were willing to give it a shot.
They were not disappointed.
A New Type Of Show
There was no exhibition floor. Presentations were short, and conducted over breakfast. Unusual? Yes. But it gave the attendees as much time as possible to do what they came to do: connect with other companies in the industry and get real value from their time at the event. To FCI, this was the goal of the meeting.
The speaker line-up was diverse, and though time was limited, rich in detail. Speakers hailed from the US, the EU, South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa. With such a mixed group, the presentations touched on every corner of the world.
In Their Words
Those who came to the Summit to find business partners had their schedules filled quickly, thanks in part to the pre-meeting Web site, www.fcitradesummit.com. Terry Kippley of Aceto Agricultural Chemicals said the site “allowed for a profile of who was coming, who they are, and what they want to get out of the meeting. That made it really easy to connect with customers.”
That feeling was a common one at the Summit. “This was a very good start — from those I talked to, they all feel the same way,” said Roger Gilmore of Gilmore Marketing and Development.
Xuemei Cai of Nutrichem noted the quality of the attendees: “Just wanted to say a big thank you to FCI, it is excellent. It is what I wanted: finding new friends … they are nice people and nice companies.”
A New Year, A New Summit
Plans are already underway for the 2008 Summit, building on the success of the first effort to become an even bigger and better event. FCI aims to turn the experience and feedback from the first Summit to take the next step, grow the show, and to keep delivering the value that attendees want and expect from Farm Chemicals International.
“I would definitely recommend the FCI Trade Summit,” said Elizabeth Shrivastava of Aimco Pesticides. “I would go back, and say you must definitely get there. I will for sure.”
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