13^th IPC received an overwhelming response!

Hyderabad succeeded in giving back due recognition to the first of its kind Plumbing Conference.

Hyderabad|India|September'2009: Hyderabad welcomed the 13th edition of much-awaited distinguished Indian Plumbing Conference with open arms. Shilpkala Vedika, one of the finest convention centres in the Pearl City was all set and well - decorated to welcome the National and International luminaries of the Plumbing Industry from all across. Not only the organisers of 13th IPC - Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) and Akar InfoMedia Pvt. Ltd. (AIM), but also the delegates and stalwarts from plumbing industry were all excited and proud to be a part of such a magnanimous event which was happening for the first time in Hyderabad.

Mr Robert Burgon, Chairman – World Plumbing Council, UK who was the Chief Guest formally inaugurated the conference by lighting the auspicious in the presence of all the other reputed and well-renowned dignitaries seated on the Dias. The Lighting of Lamp was followed by a spell-binding speech by Mr. Robert Burgon who explained the importance of plumbing and the way in which people now understand the importance of it. He also declared that WPC has now decided to celebrate 11th March every year as the World Plumbing Day (WPD) and he also unveiled a new logo of WPD for the first time in front of the Hyderabad audience.

All the guests, Invitees and Delegates were invited to the conference by a Welcome Address delivered by Mr. R K Somany – Chairman – IPA Hyderabad Chapter which was followed by a Presidential Address by Mr. Sudhakaran Nair, President – Indian Plumbing Association. In his speech, Mr. Nair explained the importance of plumbing in the day to day lives of human beings and also the role plumbing plays in maintaining the health of each and every individual. He further also enlightened the delegates about the role IPA has played and will be playing in organizing the plumbing industry.

This was followed by an address to the audience by the Guests of Honour - Mr. Blane Judd, Chief Executive & Secretary – Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), UK & Mr. G P Russ Chaney, Executive Director – The International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) – USA. Later Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS – Secretary–Tourism – Government of AP – Hyderabad, delivered his speech, who was the Keynote Speaker.


The Inaugural ceremony concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Mr. Kamal Khokhani, Managing Director – Akar InfoMedia Pvt. Ltd. (AIM) who is the Co-organizer of the Conference.

There were in all three technical sessions on the first day and each technical session comprised the most talented and intellectually sound plumbing professionals as a speaker. The Sessions were chaired by – Mr. BSA Narayan, Vice President – IPA & Principal Consultant – Potential Services Consultants Pvt. Ltd.; Prof. Dr. –Ing Mete Demiriz, University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkischen, Germany and a representative from the AP Fire & Emergency Services. Some of the speakers who presented their presentations on the first day of the conference were Mr. Vinod Sitapara, Director – Sudhakaran Nair & Co. Pvt. Ltd and Mr P Ramachandran, Chairman IPAKC & MD – G R Tech Consultants, Kochi, Mr. N C Mathur, President – Indian Stainless Steel Development Association, New Delhi; Mr. M K Gupta, Consulting Engineer – MKG Consultants, New Delhi, Mr. Subhash Deshpande, Director of Education and Certification – IAPMO India, Pune, Mr V Srinivas, Synergy Infra Consultants, Hyderabad and Mr. Sandeep Goel, Director - Spectral Services Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Noida.

Undoubtedly, the Conference, with the interesting theme like Refurbishment of Plumbing Installations has witnessed, in great numbers, visitors in the form of Plumbing Consultants & Contractors, Architects & Interior Designers, Real Estate Developers & Contractors, Utility Owners & Property Managers, Manufacturers & Material Suppliers, Product Specifiers & Project Managers, Hoteliers & Hospital Administrators, Urban Planners & Bureaucrats, Dealers & Distributors, Fire Service Officials & Consultants, and many more eager and enlightened professionals. It was a matter of immense pleasure to see the stalwarts from plumbing industry sharing their views on some of the very crucial and vital topics like: Modern Products & Equipments for Better Plumbing Installations, Current Plumbing Codes & Plumbing Education: Boon to Refurbishment Projects, and Installation of Fire Protection Systems in Old Properties.

One of the key endeavours was to work towards giving both the Show and other industries related to building services, a healthy exposure to each-other. So, while renowned plumbing organisations like the World Plumbing Council (WPC) and International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) formed the natural supporting organizations, what egged the movement further was the association of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) – Andhra Pradesh Chapter, Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID) – Hyderabad Chapter, Fire Safety Association of India (FSAI) – Hyderabad Chapter, Indian Concrete Institute (ICI) - Hyderabad and Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (ACCE) – Hyderabad Chapter as the supporting organisations of 13th IPC.