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Another lead, another prospect, in Chicago

Jerry James, Vice Chairman of Shale Crescent USA, President of Artex Oil, and I are getting ready to return from the first ever Marcellus-Utica Houston Conference this week. Jerry did the Shale Crescent presentation. It was another great conference for Shale Crescent USA. I will tell you about Houston next week after we have a chance to summarize everything that happened. As promised, this week I want to tell you about the IHSMarkit Global Plastics Summit we attended in Chicago, with over 400 participants last week.

We attended this same conference last year. This year was different. When Nathan and I introduced ourselves to strangers we got immediate recognition. This usually was an affirmative nod and, “Oh yes.” At least within this group they know what Shale Crescent USA is. Our brand is recognized. There were many people in Chicago we already know. When executives from two of our prospect companies saw us, they called us by name and we had meaningful discussions. Decisions on where to site a large plant are not made quickly and sometimes require years of dialogue. We want to build a solid relationship with our prospects. It is important for us to stay in touch on a routine basis. I always like to send them helpful information like new studies, white papers, copies of any magazine articles we are in or links to any radio or TV interviews we do. Prospects need to know we are interested and willing to help when needed.

We were the luncheon sponsor, so all of the attendees got to see the video of our Wally Kandell, Senior VP and Plant Manager for Solvay, interviewed on Bloomberg TV’s Commodities Edge Program. Tony Palmer, VP of IHSMarkit, gave a brief discussion on the IHS Study they did for Shale Crescent USA. The study said this region, the Shale Crescent USA, is the most profitable place on earth to build a new petrochemical plant. We had three tables at the luncheon where interested parties could visit with us about the advantages of the Shale Crescent over lunch. In addition to those we already knew we had interest from some new people who came to our tables.

We left Chicago with a new lead and a new prospect. I’m also very encouraged by my discussions with prospects we have been working with. They already have our study so they know how locating in “The Crescent” can benefit their company. We need to continue to remind them and answer questions when they arise. We have invited the new prospect to come to the region for a visit in the near future. They would be building a smaller facility that could start as early as next year.

Because of the size of our network and the understanding of how all of the pieces fit together, we were about to connect companies from our region who could help each other but they didn’t know that until we introduced them. For example, one company in the Ohio Valley was looking for an alternative to the rising cost of polyethylene pellets from the Gulf Coast. When the crackers are completed in a few years this problem will go away. But my friend needed help now. I was able to connect him to another friend of mine down river who does compounding and recycling of polyethylene pellets. If successful, one local company will get a new local customer and the other will save money by replacing some of his Gulf Coast supply with local supply.

This was just one of several introductions we made. If local companies are growing or becoming more efficient they are more likely to hire more people or further expand local facilities. This is good news for all of us. We left Chicago with measurable success. Now we need to follow up.

Unfortunately, my trip to Beckley to the West Virginia Boy’s High School Soccer Tournament last Friday ended with a 3-2 loss to East Fairmont in two overtimes. The boys played hard and left it on the field. We had great practices leading up to the tournament. This was a big disappointment since their goal was to win the State Championship. They had the courage to dream high. Sometimes in spite of our best efforts things don’t always work out as planned. One of the things I have learned is that people and organizations that have the courage to dream high always end up better when they fail than people or organizations with no goals or low goals. If we don’t give up usually our greatest successes follow a failure. Our juniors are planning to go back to Beckley next year and leave with a different result.

Success and the achievement of a big dream doesn’t happen in a day. It happens by what we all do day by day.

Thoughts to ponder.

***

Greg Kozera is the Director of Marketing for Shale Crescent USA www.shalecrescentusa.com. He has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert with a Masters in Environmental Engineering and the author of four books and numerous published articles.

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