IES, Ltd. Gearing Up for a Powerhouse 2011 Conference Season

Online, October 4, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The conference season includes the Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON), a key industry event that features workshops, panels, roundtable discussions and town hall-style meetings on pertinent industry topics. IES has been a long-time attendee and supporter of the conference and the PCC, the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Associations. Scheduled to attend this year is keynote speaker Rolf Lundberg, Senior Vice President, Congressional and Public Affairs at the Chamber of Commerce. The event will take place at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort outside of Palm Springs, California from 13-16 October. IES will host an exhibition in Booth 4 in the main gallery. For more information, please visit http://www.wesccon.com.

Running simultaneously to the Western Cargo Conference is The Freight Summit (TFS) in Macau. The event is organized as a networking forum for independent freight forwarders to "interact with multiple alliances, hundreds of other independent international forwarders, logistics media and solutions providers in one place at the same time." As a diamond sponsor for the event, IES is proud to continue its support of this growing event now in its fourth year. The conference is scheduled for 11-14 October at the Venetian Macao. Additional details and a full schedule of events can be found at http://www.thefreightsummit.com.

On the heels of the above is I.E. Canada in Toronto, Ontario, from 17-18 October. Since 1932, I.E. Canada has served as a national trade association for importers and exporters. Scheduled to attend are three of the most important figures in the trade industry in the Americas including Alan Bersin, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); Luc Portelance, President, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Arnoldo Martinez, Director of Planning and Infrastructure, Mexican Customs. The two-day conference focuses on international trade regulations, includes a panel discussion on NAFTA and features the CATIE Awards ceremony and dinner. For more information, visit http://www.iecanada.com.

IES will next shift gears and move from a regulatory focus to an in-depth look at Supply Chain Management (SCM) and distribution operations. Parcel Forum is a five-track conference program comprised of workshops, case studies, panel discussions and roundtables that presenting the latest trends, techniques and strategies in the parcel shipping industry. The event features an optional tour of Crate & Barrel's 400,000 square foot Distribution Center (DC) to demonstrate how one of the largest Business-to-Consumer (B2C) shippers in the world handles its packaging challenges and reduces in-transit damage claims. Speakers include representatives from Morgan Stanley, Pitney Bowes and DHL. Now in its eighth year, Parcel Forum is scheduled to take place outside of Chicago O'Hare from October 24-27. More information can be found online at http://www.parcelforum.com.

Rounding out the conference season will be the Breakbulk Americas Transportation Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans. With over 3,800 attendees, Breakbulk Americas ranks among the largest and most important gatherings for companies involved in the shipping of heavy-lift, project cargo and traditional breakbulk cargoes. Exhibitors include the world's major carriers, forwarders and ports that handle specialized heavy-lift, project and breakbulk cargoes. In addition to a bustling exhibition floor, Breakbulk Americas will feature a 2-day conference with top speakers addressing industry issues. The in-depth program will delve into today's most pressing breakbulk transportation topics. Speakers will also discuss the hottest regions for breakbulk and project cargo, and review sectors such as oil and gas, and other power generation markets. The event is scheduled for October 25-27, at the renovated Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, one of the largest event venues in the United States. For more information about Breakbulk Americans, please visit http://www.breakbulkevents.com.