WineEng 2019: Future Planning & Risk Management
The 2019 WEA Conference and Exhibition WineEng 2019 will be held at the Vine Inn in Nuriootpa in South Australia’s Barossa Valley region on 11-12 September.
The conference is a significant and unique event on the wine calendar, concentrating on many aspects of wine production and aimed at production operations personnel (winemakers, engineers and maintenance staff, bottling and packaging management, general management as well as winery suppliers). The common goal for those who attend is to ensure that the Australian wine industry remains competitive both in the domestic and global markets. The conference keeps key operational staff up to date with the latest global technological advancements, ensuring the Australian wine industry retains its competitive edge wherever possible.
Registration for the conference and associated exhibition will open at 8.30am on Wednesday 11 September with the conference commencing at 9.30am with a welcome from WEA president
Ben McDonald.
The 2019 conference theme, ‘Future Planning & Risk Management’, will focus on ways in which wineries can improve productivity and reduce costs by being innovative and adopting new technology, therefore increasing the potential to add value to products via improved product quality, reduced wastage and improved efficiency. In addition, delegates will be advised on how to manage potential risk areas, such as the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) based insulation and the limitations associated with future water supply, the latter subject being addressed by senior representatives from both the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the SA Department for Environment and Water.
Key speakers will address such topics as:
- the introduction of digital technology, commonly referred to as the 4th Industrial Revolution or ‘Industry 4.0’, for wineries of all sizes
- energy management & procurement
- water security, supply & reuse
- filtration performance, cost & quality control
- insulation issues in the wine industry
In addition to the above sessions, there will be a number of other areas of wine production covered in presentations over the two days which will provide opportunities to share and improve the knowledge of winery teams.
The variety of presentations will also provide many choices to suit conference delegates’ interests which can be clearly seen in the conference program (below).
One of the highlights of this conference will be a forum looking at issues associated with the use of insulation in wineries with a particular focus on the common use of EPS (expanded polystyrene). The forum will consist of a panel of experts who will look at
the following:
- types of insulation used in the wine industry to date and effectiveness
- alternatives available including both tank and building insulation
- risk management issues
- insurance issues.
- Short formal presentations will be followed by a panel discussion including a Q&A with conference delegates with the panel comprising the following:
Tank Insulation: Dimitri Giourgas, General Manager, Australian Tank Insulation
Building Insulation: TBA
Risk Management: Laurence Montgomery, Senior Loss Prevention Consultant, AXA – XL. Caitlin
Insurance: Nick Clarke, Principal, Aon Global Risk Consulting
The 2018 conference, which was also held at the Vine Inn in Nuriootpa, was extremely well attended. Feedback from the conference delegates and visitors to the associated exhibition was also very positive with many of them commenting that they considered the event to be very beneficial to their business as it allowed them to keep abreast of leading-edge technological advancements and practices.
An integral part of this annual event is the great display of products and services available from Australian and international providers. With the conference and associated exhibition being one of the few that is run on an annual basis it also provides an excellent opportunity for annual face to face networking amongst key operational staff from wine producers ranging from small boutique operations to large multinational wine companies. The number and quality of trade exhibitors gathered in the one place at the same time also provides a similar opportunity to have face-to-face discussions with people who are experts in their field and willing to help.
The finale to the event will be the conference dinner to be held during the evening of the final day of the conference. The WEA conference dinner is always well accepted and enjoyed by all who attend and, once again, provides an opportunity for important networking in a relatively informal environment and, of course, as always there will be a fundraiser to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
To find out more, click here.
