Three key players from the soybean crushing and vegetable oil refining in the Middle East / North Africa (MENA) region attended the 2018 American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) Annual Meeting & Expo at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis from May 5 to 11.
USSEC’s delegation was led by USSEC Regional Consultant – MENA Mousa Wakileh, who was joined by three delegates: Ahmed Rabei, the head of the industrial sector from the Wadi Group; Samir Frigui, technical manager of Slama Freres S.A.; and Mustapha HASSINI, directeur général adjoint from Lesieur Cristal. The group agreed that the best advantage of the event is combining technical sessions and exposition of the major players in the oil seeds business at the same time.
Over the course of more than 100 sessions, the conference covered new technology and the latest research findings in the fields of analysis, processing, and health and nutrition. Mr. Frigui said what he liked about AOCS is that provides a global platform to meet world class experts in the oils and fats industry and see what they propose in the latest developments and hot topics. Mr. Hassini added that it’s a great opportunity to be exposed to the latest research and development in the oil seeds industry, whereby the expo comprises the latest technologies in processing machinery, online analysis, and controls. Finally, Mr. Rabei concluded that what he liked about the event is how it bridges the gap between research studies and real technical life applications in the market and touches on commercial aspects.