The Fall General Meeting for the Canadian Process Control Association was held yesterday at Terrace on the Green in Brampton, Ontario. One of the key topics was the forecast for the association. The focus was on Process, Instrumentation, and Automation equipment. The projection for US growth for 2012 is $6.61 Billion. That is a 2.4 percent growth from 2009 which was $6.14 Billion. The projection for the Canadian market was $757 Million for 2012, compared to $711.3 Million for 2009. This reflects a growth of 2.1 percent. Because of the recession in 2008, the market dropped 15% in 2009. By 2012 both the US & Canadian markets are expected to be back to the levels seen in 2005.
The final agenda item was a roundtable discussion with invited Certification Bodies. MET Labs was represented by Kevin Harbarger, V.P. Business Development. Each representative gave a brief presentation about their organization & were then asked to provide helpful hints on how the CPCA members can be better prepared for the submission of product certification. The hot button for the association was the push for a national certification mark for Canadian Product Safety. It was suggested that a Maple Leaf silhouette with the mark of the certification body be the national mark. This received wide approval from the members. It will be very interesting to see if this gains traction.