Time For Change
18 December 2008 For those who follow US politics, I am sure you are well aware of the “change” catchphrase being used by American presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain. By the time you read this, you’ll know what kind of change is in store, if any, for the US [or, we could be still counting votes].
Many of you are experiencing another change in November — one more pertinent to your business. Your annual trip to the UK to attend the BCPC meeting is not occurring. After some 50 years of being the most important gathering in global crop protection, the BCPC Congress was cancelled in early August, citing a “disappointing commercial uptake for both exhibition space and hospitality facilities which show no signs of recovery.” The long-lived BCPC conference, which for most of its years took place in Brighton, UK, had come to an abrupt end.
So what happened?
The event seemed to be on a growth path in the late 1990s — its exhibition area was increasing as more post patent suppliers came on the scene and the conference portion of the event had a nice alternating focus of “Weeds” and “Pests & Diseases.”
But not everyone was happy. Attendees had begun to complain of the rising prices in Brighton and whipping winds off the Channel, so in 2003, BCPC changed the venue to Scotland. The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre was the new home to the “Crop Science & Technology & BCPC International Congress.”
But change seemed to happen all at once on the way to Glasgow. The market began to settle after all of the consolidation in the late 1990s. China and India continued to emerge as key suppliers and toll manufacturers. A drop in the introduction of new chemistries coupled with the emergence of biotechnology caused companies to focus on well-targeted, high value products. Marketing and sales programs became more localized — an in-country strategy was the approach for new products.
Much like politicians, maybe BCPC tried in vain to be everything to every one — not catering to a specific need or group within its attendee base. In recent years, it tried to address the commercial base with a larger trade show exhibition and the technical/R&D base with more seminars and longer conferences. Instead of bringing people together, it led them to drift further apart. There were two “meetings” taking place — one commercial and one technical in focus. Each had its own agenda with different interests. The voices of displeasure grew louder and attendance began to drop. Many in the industry were not overly surprised when the cancellation announcement came in August. It’s doubtful the event will be renewed.
What won’t change is the incredible value and opportunities the BCPC meeting provided to this industry. Think of the many business deals, new chemistries, and relationships which were borne from this gathering during the past five decades. And so many memories: The Lanes. The Pier. The receptions from Shell, ICI, and Bayer. The Whiskey tasting from Inveresk. And the Metropole lobby.
The one thing you can’t change is history. Thank goodness the BCPC meeting was a part of it for more than half a century …
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