The International Titanium Association (ITA) will host the first TITANIUM ASIA 2018 conference and exhibition February 4th-5th, the day before the Singapore Airshow starts, at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.

One backdrop to the Singapore gathering is that European aerospace giant Airbus recently announced plans to ramp up production of its A320 jets at an existing assembly facility near Beijing. A January 9th report by BBC News, along with a similar Airbus press statement, said the company expects to produce six A320 jets a month by the year 2020. Aerospace is a key issue, high-profile global business market for the titanium industry and much of the projected growth for the aerospace industry will be generated in the greater Asia region.

As it turns out, Nicole Lecca, the senior vice president of material and part procurement for Airbus, tops the roster of speakers for TITANIUM ASIA. Lecca has spent three decades with the aerospace company and last year was promoted to her current post, where she deals with metallic and composite raw materials, along parts procurement for all Airbus Group programs.

Henry Seiner, vice president of business strategy for Titanium Metals Corp. (TIMET), also will address the Singapore conference. Seiner, who serves as the chair of the ITA’s board of directors, has extensive experience in the aerospace sector, is responsible for TIMET international supply chain, and oversees the company’s marketing, product management, purchasing and production planning.

Dr. MP Sukumaran Nair, chairman of Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. (KMML), will discuss India’s goals for expanding its ascending titanium/zirconium market and aerospace industry.

Other speakers addressing the TITANIUM ASIA conference will be: Jeremy Halford, president of Arconic Titanium and Engineered Products; Shuanxiao Jia, general manager, Baoji Titanium Industry Co. Ltd.; Gary Lantzke, chief executive officer of Callidus Welding Solutions; Günter Busch, the head of southeast Asian representation for ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH; Graham P. Walker, vice president, sales and marketing at AMETEK Specialty Metal Products; Nick Corby, titanium product manager for ELG/Utica Alloys; and Heming Hao, market analyst, Argus Media.

Exhibitors at TITANIUM ASIA include: ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH; AMETEK—Reading Alloys; Aries Alloys; Baoji Boze Metal Products; Baoji Jiaqi Metal; Baoji Titanium Industry Co. Ltd.; BÖHLER Bleche GmbH and Co. KG; China Huaxia Special Metal Ltd.; ELG Utica Alloys; Friggi North America Inc.; Grandis Titanium Co.; Hangsterfer’s Laboratories; Hangzhou King Titanium Co.; Hempel Special Metals AG; Inductotherm Group China; Industrial Metals International; KV-Titan Ltd.; Luoyang Sunrui Titanium Precision Casting Co.; Perryman Company; Retech; Supra Alloys, a division of Titan Metal Fabricators; Titanium Industries Inc.; TIMET; Tinita Engineering Private Ltd.; Tipro International Co. Ltd.; Toho Titanium Group; Tricor Metals; Uniti Titanium; Zhangjiagang Huayu Nonferrous Metal Material Co. Ltd. (Valueti); Xi’an Metals and Minerals; and Zhejiang Shenji Titanium Industry Co. Ltd.