D&S at PMOC 2015

D&S was pleased to participate in the year's Petrochemical & Maritime Outlook conference 2015 as Bronze sponsors.

Panel Outlook

Petrochemical, maritime and logistics experts delivered bold forecasts for continued capital investment in new facilities and expansions in the Houston Ship Channel and Greater Houston region. While declining oil prices and resulting job cuts were on the minds of industry leaders, they expressed confidence the "downstream" industry was well-positioned to grow and could adjust to a changing market due to cost constraints implemented by refining, chemical and maritime industries during the 2008-2009 recession.

The maritime and petrochemical industries both see challenges. A growing gap of skilled workers needed to build, maintain and operate plant and port facilities has created initiatives with local community colleges, high schools, and construction and maintenance contractors to expand the pool of qualified workers. Zachry Industrial, S&B Engineering and Infinity Construction Services outlined initiatives within their companies and initiatives with outside partnerships that help recruit, train and retain qualified employees needed along the Texas Gulf Coast. Lee College and San Jacinto College have expanded their training programs for petrochemical careers. San Jacinto College is near completion of a new maritime training center on the Ship Channel to boost maritime training.

Raffle Winner

Special congratulations to Tina Dean at TGE Industrial Services for winning our raffle - a Texans Golf Bag!