Marketing and Communications China Sub-Committee

Marketing and Communications China Sub-committee Overview

As the worlds largest steel and manganese alloy producer, China holds the key to the future of the industry. In particular, the past three years have seen Chinas manganese demand surge at a dramatic 25% per year. Yet understanding what is happening within the country proves difficult due to the local industrys highly fragmented and often underreported production activity. By representing more than 35% of global alloy production in 2004, and being the worlds largest Mn ore importer, however, China must be involved in the industrys international dialogue.

Because China has become a crucial industry player, the IMnI has made reaching out to Chinese producers and encouraging them to join its ranks, one of its core objectives.

In 2001, the IMnI began making plans to hold its 2002 Annual Conference in Shanghai, PRC., partnering with the Chinese Ferro-Alloy Industry Association to ensure strong participation from the Chinese producers. The conference was groundbreaking in that more than 80 Chinese industry players attended. But more importantly, it opened a dialogue that led a groundswell of exchanges and new membership from China.

The Marketing & Communications Committee, led by Greg Forbes, invited IMnIs Chinese and China-based members to form their own M&C China Sub-Committee. Their goals were to promote the IMnI within China, determine how it could best address the concerns of the local industry and, eventually, develop membership there.

Their first meeting was held in Hong Kong in March 2003. By the time they held their second meeting in October of the same year, IMnI had two new members from the PRC. The M&C China Sub, as it is now dubbed, continues to operate successfully under the Chairmanship of Wang Feng, who regularly reports the progress his group is making to the Board. Today, IMnI has a total of 18 members from China: 14 from the PRC and 4 from Hong Kong.