Bringing the World to Liverpool: The International Cotton Association Trade Conference, Exhibition, and Annual Dinner 3 - 5 October 2007
On Friday 5th October 2007, almost 800 delegates from all over the world will be in Liverpool for the Annual Dinner of the International Cotton Association, to be held in the magnificent Anglican Cathedral. This truly international gathering is the centrepiece of the cotton calendar and tickets are at a premium. Delegates from around 60 countries will be attending, to network with their colleagues in the cotton trade and enjoy the hospitality of Liverpool.

This is the largest Trade Dinner to be held outside of London.  The International Cotton Association is the world’s pre-eminent cotton regulatory and arbitral body. Based in Liverpool since 1841, and is proud to host this large annual event in it’s home city of Liverpool, once the epicentre of the world’s cotton trade. Over 80% of the world’s cotton is now traded under the rules of the International Cotton Association, often still referred to as the ‘Liverpool Rules’

The Dinner marks the culmination of one of the busiest months in the year for the cotton trade, following on as it does from the ICA’s Trade Conference held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Liverpool’s World Heritage waterfront. The conference includes presentations by a number of international industry professionals.

Following discussions between the ICA and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) this year the ICA is providing an area at the Crowne Plaza for creative business to show how cotton can or could be used creatively. SixtyEight Design based in LJMU has designed the exhibition space called ‘Cotton Flower’ in which young Northern businesses can showcase their products.  This initiative is part of the Northern Edge (CPE).

2007’s Trade Conference, Exhibition and Dinner promise to be the best yet, with a full programme of events commencing with a reception hosted by the Lord Mayor in the Liverpool’s Historic Town Hall.

For more information please visit: www.ica-ltd.org or contact the Secretariat on +44 (0)151 236 6041 or staff@ica-ltd.org.

Chamber members, Jab Design  are  getting naturally better with age and are delighted to announce the celebration of its 5th anniversary this month.

Just two months after celebrating the launch of its sister company, Clever Machines Ltd, Jab Design is cracking open the bubbly once again to celebrate the end of its 5th year in the product design and development industry. The world of designers and innovators moves fast, but it seems only yesterday that Jab Design took the plunge and invested significant funds to become the largest product design consultancy in the North West of Britain! Jab Design officially obtained ‘limited company’ status on 7th August 2002 and has grown from just one man in his basement into a flourishing company of 11 staff, with two more starting in September.

In June 2007 Jab Design launched a subsidiary company, Clever Machines, to build on their successes in design consultancy. Clever Machines is a natural ally to Jab Design, assembling high value products for technical leaders in challenging industrial sectors. Manufacturing is alive and well and driven by high design values and a bit of magic.

Jonathan Butters, MD of Jab Design says “2007 is our year of joint ventures and we are partnering several new ventures to bring market-leading ideas to life. In five years Jab Design have designed aeroplanes, plant pots, golf bags, sea safety systems, blood monitors, football games, attack alarms, etc., etc. The dragons are still in the den, but we are out and about, turning ideas into money!”

For further information, please contact Laura Griffiths or Charlotte Corke on 0151 707 7840.

As you probably know, Liverpool’s 800th birthday is coming up next Tuesday, 28 August.

We’ve already describes some of the activities that will be taking place around the business district of the city centre. These include a ’school sports day’ on Old Hall Street, medieval festivities in Exchange Flags and a real ale festival kicking off in some of the local pubs.

However, these are just some of the celebrations lined up.

Also happening around the city are parades, pageants and a spectacular firework display to round the day off. There’s going to be plenty to see and do to mark this special day. For a full list of events and more details, visit the Liverpool 800 Day page on the Liverpool08 website.