The International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA) has a new leader at its helm though she is a very familiar face within the organization. Melinda Whitney has been with ILTA for 11 years and has served in a number of roles of increasing responsibility. She assumed the duties as president in January.
ILTA is the only trade association that focuses exclusively on the bulk liquid terminal industry. It serves as a primary source of information and advice for its members on regulatory requirements and industry trends and best practices. ILTA is also an advocate for the bulk liquid terminal industry on public policy issues and has the ability to anticipate and explore trends affecting the industry and turn that information into programs its members see as being more valuable.
BIC Magazine recently visited with Whitney to learn more about the organization, her role and the future of the liquid terminal industry.
BIC: What led to your position at ILTA?
WHITNEY: I grew up in Tulsa, Okla., which has often been referred to historically as “The Oil Capital of the World.” Also, my father and grandfather were both in the industry so I had a natural inclination to want to be in this business. I was fortunate an opening at ILTA came at a time when I was looking to switch careers.
In 2003, ILTA was searching for a director of communications to plan, organize and manage the association’s marketing, public relations and strategic communications program. I was very interested in the position and applied. I joined ILTA later that year. At ILTA, I have served as director of communications, director of government relations and education services, vice president and executive vice president. In the fall of 2012, ILTA President David Doane announced he would retire at the end of 2013. At that point, we began a one-year management transition. In October 2013, the ILTA board of directors elected me as president.
BIC: What objectives did you set for yourself upon taking office?
WHITNEY: Over the course of the past year, we have been able to extend our reach and expand services to our members. We see this most visibly through three core functions: expanding our advocacy in Washington, growing our annual conference and trade show, and expanding our training and education programs with new offerings. One of our biggest assets as an association is our ability to offer a community for terminal companies to share ideas, experiences and concerns. We continually seek ways to enhance our relevance to our members. As the terminal industry changes and the challenges faced by our members change, it is no longer enough to repeat the programs of the past. My plan is to focus our efforts on assessing the needs of our members and leveraging our core capabilities to offer timely, new and value-added services to meet those needs.
BIC: What do you see as the primary function of ILTA?
WHITNEY: When ILTA was formed in 1974, the single most influential force bringing terminal operators together was government legislation and the resulting regulatory reforms that impacted the industry. This hasn’t changed. As an association, we are positioned to represent the terminal industry before Congress and federal agencies and help influence the laws and regulations that affect our members. We provide the industry with a strong, unified voice on critical public policy issues.
BIC: What is the biggest news at ILTA and in the industry right now?
WHITNEY: The biggest news at ILTA has probably been the management transition. I am only the third president of the association. Last year was the first staff turnover in seven years. The ILTA staff is extremely talented, hardworking and shares a genuine interest in helping the organization and our members succeed.
There are a lot of positive developments in the petroleum and chemical industries right now. Our members continue to demonstrate improvement trends in workplace safety with incident rates well below the general industry averages reported by OSHA. Operational safety and environmental performance at terminals are top priorities. Our members have high standards for workplace safety, environmental protection and job performance. They are leaders in safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally sound operations.
BIC: What have been ILTA’s greatest successes?
WHITNEY: ILTA has a long history of success. There are many things this association has achieved over the past 40 years. Since our founding, ILTA has transformed itself from an association of independent terminal operators to one that now serves a global membership base of international terminal companies and suppliers of products and services to the industry. Our greatest success most recently has been the substantial growth of our conference and trade show. This year, we will host our 34th annual event. Since the beginning, the ILTA conference and trade show has been strongly supported by the terminal industry. Each year we attract more companies to exhibit in our trade show, which led us to expand our space to add new booths and floor traffic capacity. The 2014 event will feature more than 320 companies from around the world.
We have also become more visible in global events and have created a Spanish track at our conference. Working with several of our members with operations in Latin and South America, we selected speakers for our first half-day of Spanish sessions in 2010. The next year, we expanded it to a full day of Spanish presentations. In 2014, we will have sessions in Spanish on two days as well as a one-day training workshop in Spanish. It has been very rewarding to see how the interest in these sessions has grown. Each year, more and more conference registrants attend, and it has become an important part of our annual event.
BIC: What are your greatest challenges?
WHITNEY: Challenges with security and environmental regulations have increased for terminals. Government intervention in our industry is exceedingly expansive. Unjustifiable regulations, inconsistent enforcement of policies and unreasonable expectations are making it more complicated and expensive for terminals to operate and are creating barriers to continued growth of our industry and the overall economy. There is no question the government seeks to tighten its regulatory grip on the petroleum and chemical industries. EPA, DOT, OSHA and the Department of Homeland Security have clearly demonstrated their willingness to impose extreme rules on terminals. We are especially concerned about recent executive orders on chemical facility safety and security and cybersecurity. These orders set policy in a manner that bypasses congressional review and approval, and they will lead to a number of compliance obligations that are not clearly defined.
BIC: What do you want to achieve for ILTA?
WHITNEY: ILTA remains extremely well positioned to deliver a range of services for our members. Terminal companies around the world recognize the value of being a member of our association. ILTA can have a positive impact by having relevant products, programs and services and by marketing and distributing them globally. Future growth of our association will require getting to know what is relevant in other markets in order to attract new members. Strategic leadership from our board of directors as well as strong planning and execution will help us succeed as we promote the ILTA brand to terminals throughout the world.
BIC: What do you see in the future for the terminals industry?
WHITNEY: I am very optimistic about the bulk liquid storage industry’s future. The development of shale oil in the United States has created a surge in demand for storage capacity and is opening up new business opportunities for terminals now and in the foreseeable future. This incremental need for additional oil and gas infrastructure is driving investment and construction in the midstream sector.
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Also, large developing countries like China and India are reshaping energy markets. The growing energy demands in these areas are driving large‐scale investment in strategic locations.
New technologies will further enable terminals to maximize operational efficiencies and provide higher quality services that help their customers compete in the world economy.
