Our inspiring speakers for 2024 will be giving insights on topical and technical issues designed to appeal to delegates from the bulk handling industry and associated fields.
BulkEx 24 Conference speakers
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Mr Chris Adams, Director of Engineering, The Bristol Port Company
Chris has been a civil engineer for over 25 years, working in design, construction and facilities management across Africa and the Middle East. He has worked on a broad spectrum of projects from bridge construction, remote accommodation construction through to disaster relief.
He joined the Bristol Port Company as the Director of Engineering in April 2023 and with a team of over 100 vocational engineers he discharges his responsibility for the maintenance and compliance across the 2500-acre estate. Since joining the port, he has overseen the final stages of converting the legacy coal infrastructure so that it can be re-used to convey gypsum.
A Chartered Engineer, he is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and oversees the Enterprise Partnership between the Port and the Institution of Engineering & Technology. He is an alumnus of Portsmouth, Cranfield and the Australian National University.
Paper Title: The Bristol Port Company – A Return to Bulk
Prof. Mike Bradley – Director, The Wolfson Centre. University of Greenwich
Mike is Professor in Particle and Bulk Technology, and Director of the Wolfson Centre at the University of Greenwich. He was awarded both his honour degrees and PHD from Thames Polytechnic (now the University of Greenwich) and as the Director, provides technical leadership in all aspects of bulk solids handling. Mike’s team provides research, consultancy and educational services in all aspects of bulk solids handling and processing, from conveying and silo storage, instrumentation and control, material quality to mixing, drying and feeding. He is the Chair of the Solids Handling and Processing Association (SHAPA), a Member of the Materials Handling Engineers Association (MHEA) and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Bulk Materials Handling Committee (IMechE).
Joint Paper Title : Spend a Little Now, to Save a Lot Later: Advances in Bulk Material Characterisation Techniques and their Application to Contain Project Risk
Mr Colin Dowds – Global Technical Manager, Imerys
Colin Dowds has more than 25 years of experience within the construction industry. He is the Global Technical Manager for the infrastructure division at Imerys.
IMERYS S.A. is a French multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals, with a focus on delivering sustainable solutions for the future.
Paper Title: Sustainable Concrete for the future – Metakaolin and other clay based minerals
Mr Tim Fry – Project Manager, Aggregate Industries UK Limited
Tim has over 25 years’ experience in the infrastructure, materials handling, mineral extraction and mineral processing industries with a proven record of successfully leading multi-disciplinary teams to deliver the permitting, engineering, procurement and construction of complex UK and international projects in challenging environments.
Tim’s broad Project Management experience of acting as the Client, Engineer, Principal Designer and Principal Contractor has provided him with a detailed understanding of key project drivers and risks to deliver practical, cost effective and environmentally sensitive solutions whilst ensuring safety, financial and schedule performance.
Paper Title: Bardon Hill Quarry Overburden Materials Handling System
Dr Vivek Garg – Research and Consulting Engineer – The Wolfson Centre. University of Greenwich
Dr. Vivek Garg is working as a Research and Consulting Engineer in The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, specialising in powder characterisation and bulk property analysis, with a focus on powder flowability. Dr. Garg actively leads consultancy projects that include designing storage vessels, resolving flow issues in powder handling industries, and optimising process parameters to improve plant efficiency. With a strong presence in sectors like food, pharmaceuticals, and battery manufacturing, Dr. Garg contributes to enhancing production processes and ensuring operational efficiency.
Joint Paper Title : Spend a Little Now, to Save a Lot Later: Advances in Bulk Material Characterisation Techniques and their Application to Contain Project Risk
Mr Jens Hagenau – Product & Export Manager, Rulmeca Germany GmbH
Jens Hagenau has been working as a product and export manager for Rulmeca Germany GmbH, Aschersleben, as part of the globally operating Rulmeca Group, for more than 17 years. After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University “Otto von Guericke” in Magdeburg in 1990, Mr. Hagenau first worked for 2 years in research for mineral processing technology and then for 14 years in the sales of mobile processing plants (screening and crushing technology) in the field of mineral raw materials. Since 2006, Mr. Hagenau has been responsible for the export of drum motors of Rulmeca Germany GmbH to the key markets of Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. During this very user-oriented activity, he was able to acquire extensive market knowledge, which today flows into the development of new conveyor belt drives based on the drum motor.
Paper Title: Drum motor in use in dust-explosive environments – presentation of the Peel Ports Liverpool UK Project
Mr Peter Kay – Head of Learning & Development, Tarmac
Peter has worked in the manufacturing and engineering industry for over 30 years in technical, operational and HR roles. Peter is part of both Tarmac’s Senior Leadership Team and their HR Leadership Team.
Responsible for learning & development activities within Tarmac including operator competence, personal skills, and leadership development. This includes the operation of the National Skills and Safety Park delivering Ofsted rated “Outstanding” apprenticeships. Peter has been Trailblazer chair for Mineral Products industry apprenticeship standards and continues to sit on the Trailblazer stakeholder reference panel at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education as a voice for the industry. Peter is passionate about helping people realise their potential no matter their social background and puts a focus on individuals and teams applying what they learn at work, which starts with self-awareness and learning to learn.
Paper Title: Develop to Perform and to be Future Ready
Mr Igor Lebedenko – Regional Technology Engineer at Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
Igor has Masters Degree in Systems Engineering and over the last 14 years held various roles at ADM with primary focus on Automation, Data Analytics and currently supports modernisation of industrial automation systems across Food Processing facilities in EMEAI region.
He finds particular interest in finding simple off-the-shelf solutions to complex engineering problems and getting involved with strenuous commissioning of large projects.
Paper Title: Beyond Moisture: peaking inside moving conveyor with microwave sensor
Mr Sean Hagar – Managing Director, Hargreaves Industrial Services Ltd
Lucie joined Hargreaves as a graduate of Leeds University in 1996 where she studied English. With early roles in sales administration and quality assurance, Lucie progressed through the organisation structure to her current role of Proposals Director. Leading the Hargreaves bid team to develop and win multi-million-pound contracts across a wide variety of industrial sectors, including but not limited to energy, steel, ports, infrastructure and manufacturing, both in the UK and overseas. Working closely with Hargreaves Engineering team, she has supported the team to bid and win large scale infrastructure projects from original concept to commissioning.
Paper Title: Bulk Solids Handling Technology & HS2’s London Tunnels
Damien O’Neill – Head of Engineering (Maintenance) BIFFA
I started my engineering career via an 8-year engineering apprenticeship in the Royal Navy, during this time, I held various positions in maintenance and engineering, gaining extensive knowledge in the leadership of teams maintaining complex systems and equipment under challenging and arduous conditions.
After leaving the Navy in 2009, I pivoted my career towards manufacturing, where I worked for several global manufacturers including Eaton, Parker Hanifin, Doncasters & Caterpillar always in senior maintenance and engineering roles. I gained a wealth of knowledge in lean manufacturing processes, asset management, continuous improvement and engineering best practices.
I joined Biffa in 2020 as a Senior Business Manager in Municipal, just weeks before the Covid 19 pandemic, new to the waste industry, depot and client, this was one of the most rewarding and challenging periods in my career. A lucky encounter at the Diamond awards led to my transition back to engineering & over to the R&E division, then most recently in my current role as part of the new Group Engineering function.
Paper Title: From Aircraft to Aluminium cans – Manufacturing Asset Management in the context of the waste industry
Mr Ian Riley – Director, Xeroc Ltd
Ian has been CEO of the World Cement Association since 2019 where his priority is to accelerate decarbonization of the cement and concrete industries. He sits on the advisory boards of several ClimateTech companies, is a steering team member at Smart Surfaces Coalition. He is also a partner at WhitewaterTx, which helps companies implement transformative strategies, and co-founder and director at Xeroc, a sustainable building materials start up.
Previously Ian was Greater China Country Head for cement major Holcim, where he was responsible for the successful integration of the Holcim and Lafarge businesses in China. From 2006 to 2014 he was a member of the Huaxin Cement executive team, responsible for international business, corporate strategy, business development, sustainability and equipment manufacture. Ian was responsible for Huaxin’s first overseas venture in Tajikistan.
Before joining Huaxin, Ian worked in the construction and industrial minerals in China, the UK, the USA, Australia and Japan. Ian Is a graduate of Cambridge University
Paper Title: Navigating Disruption: The Impact of New Materials, Practices and Regulations on the Cement and Concrete Industry
Mr Suleyman Salihler – General Manager, Polimak Process Technology
Süleyman is the General Manager of Polimak. He has a BS in Aerospace Engineering and an MS in Mechanical Engineering, with over 20 years of experience in the bulk materials handling industry.
He started designing, managing production, and sales of solids handling equipment at Polimak. Together with his colleagues, he transformed the company from a small workshop into a global turnkey solution provider in the bulk solids handling industry. After developing numerous software solutions for Polimak’s products, he ventured into industrial IoT development and established two companies focused on industrial IoT and business automation software.
While his responsibilities now include managing the companies instead of engineering tasks, Süleyman has several completed and pending patents in the bulk solids handling industry, some for improving current handling systems and others for space resource utilization.
Paper Title: From Earth to Space – Strategic Developments in Material Handling to Address Global Challenges and Prepare for the Future
Mr Davey Wharrier, Fuel Handling Manager, Lynemouth Power Ltd
Davey had over 30 year’s experience in the UK Deep Mines sector before moving to Lynemouth Power in 2006 as raw Materials Engineer. He has been the Engineering Lead for the biomass conversion for over 7 years and project manager for the Biomass Storage and Handling project for the duration of the contract. Today, he holds the post of Fuel Handling Manager for Lynemouth Power, with responsibility for both Lynemouth and Port of Tyne installations. A background in the mining industry gives an individual wide experience in the techniques and processes that have been developed over the years for fire and explosion detection and mitigation below ground.
Paper Title: Changes
