MAXAM
International experts in energetic products and materials gather in Oviedo (Spain) between the 9th and 12th of April
2013.04.08
Press room - News - International experts in energetic products and materials gather in Oviedo (Spain) between the 9th and 12th of April
MAXAM is Spain’s top company in this sector, and the second leading global company
- IGUS (the International Group on Unstable Substances) gathers experts from companies and public bodies that work with explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics and energetic and oxidizing substances.
- CIE (Chief Inspectors of Explosives) is the annual international meeting of the Chief Inspector of Explosives. In Spain’s case, the matter is handled by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism’s Directorate-General of Energy and Mining Policy.
- Most of the members of both organizations are, in turn, members of the United Nation’s Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, whose mission is the development of international regulations for the classification and transport of dangerous goods.
- MAXAM, the Spanish company founded by Alfred Nobel in 1872, is Spain’s leader in this sector, and the second most important at a global level, with a turnover of 1.060 B € in 2012.
- On Wednesday the 10th, the over 60 professionals attending will meet with the Principality of Asturias’ General Director of Mining and Energy (Isaac Pola Alonso) at the MUMI (www.mumi.es - the Mining and Industrial Museum of Asturias).
- Within the MUMI, they will visit the Explosives House, an exhibition space sponsored by the MAXAM Foundation, which covers the evolution and contribution of these products to the development of other sectors (mining, quarrying, infrastructure).
IGUS was created in 1962 as an agency of the OECD. It is comprised of experts from around the world who work together on the study and development of best practices for the handling, storage and transport of two groups of unstable substances: that which consists of explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics, as well as that which consists of energetic substances and oxidizers.
Its members meet annually, and MAXAM was the company that proposed holding the 2013 meeting in Oviedo, Asturias (Spain), due to the region’s relationship with the explosives industry.
The over 60 experts attending the meeting come from countries spread across the five continents: Canada, USA, Chile, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia.
The over 60 experts attending the meeting come from countries spread across the five continents: Canada, USA, Chile, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia.
Spanish representation
MAXAM (Spain’s leading company in this sector, and the world’s second most important, with an overall turnover of 1.6 B € in 2012) attends this gathering as a representative of the country’s commercial sector. At an official level, Spain is represented at the gathering by the Ministry of Industry and Energy’s General Directorate for Energy Policy and Mines and the LOM (the JM Madariaga Laboratory), an organism which is accredited at a European level to –amongst other tasks– handle homologations dealing with explosives and pyrotechnics.
Participation in the United Nations
The CIE group is formed by the Chief Inspectors of Explosives, who are in charge of the regulation and control of activities related to explosive products (production, transport, storage, use) in their respective countries.
These, like IGUS, participate in the regulatory activities carried out by supranational organisms. The most important of these is the United Nations’ Explosives Subcommittee on Transport of Dangerous Goods.
These, like IGUS, participate in the regulatory activities carried out by supranational organisms. The most important of these is the United Nations’ Explosives Subcommittee on Transport of Dangerous Goods.
This subcommittee is responsible for establishing international standards that are the basis for harmonizing the different national regulations on international transport of chemicals considered "dangerous".
Visit to the MUMI and the Explosives House
In between its program of meetings and work sessions, this upcoming 10th of April the attendees will visit the Asturian Museum of Mining and Industry, where they will meet with the Principality of Asturias’ General Director of Mining and Energy, Isaac Pola Alonso.
At the MUMI, the focus of the visit will be on the Explosives House. This exhibit, created by the MUMI and the MAXAM Foundation, tells the evolution of this industry and its contribution to the development of other sectors such as mining and, by extension, the progress and development of society.
Further information:
Lucas Ferreira
MAXAM
Communications Director
91 722 01 00
lferreira@maxam.net
MAXAM – www.maxam.net
MAXAM is a service and industrial group that operates on a global scale by developing, manufacturing and commercializing civil explosives and initiation systems for mining, quarries and construction; cartridges, shotgun shells and smokeless powder for hunting and sports use; and products for the defense industry. Additionally, MAXAM is a supplier of key raw materials for nitro chemical activity, generated for the company’s own internal needs as well as for sales to third parties. Finally, as a result of its drive towards innovative, sustainable development, MAXAM offers its clients a wide variety of solutions in the fields of safety and environmental conservation.
Founded by Alfred Nobel in 1872, MAXAM celebrated its 140th birthday in 2012 with a yearly turnover of approximately one billion euros and a presence in all of the major mining areas of the world, with production sites in over 45 countries, an active market presence in more than 100 others, and over 6500 employees spread across five continents.
MAXAM offers a complete range of products and services to the companies and markets where it operates and integrates safe, superior quality and high tech products with the most complete technical advice, contributing in this manner to the continuous improvement of the services given to its clients. The company’s vast international presence, respect for the environment, groundbreaking research and considerable philanthropic efforts demonstrate MAXAM’s status as a leading, active and committed company, engaged with the progress and development of the society and the environment that surrounds it.
The MAXAM Foundation
Founded by Alfred Nobel in 1872, MAXAM celebrated its 140th birthday in 2012 with a yearly turnover of approximately one billion euros and a presence in all of the major mining areas of the world, with production sites in over 45 countries, an active market presence in more than 100 others, and over 6500 employees spread across five continents.
MAXAM offers a complete range of products and services to the companies and markets where it operates and integrates safe, superior quality and high tech products with the most complete technical advice, contributing in this manner to the continuous improvement of the services given to its clients. The company’s vast international presence, respect for the environment, groundbreaking research and considerable philanthropic efforts demonstrate MAXAM’s status as a leading, active and committed company, engaged with the progress and development of the society and the environment that surrounds it.
The MAXAM Foundation
MAXAM Foundation is a non-profit organization that encompasses MAXAM sponsorship activities in the realm of culture, and within painting in particular. Moreover, the Foundation’s mission centers on the organization, preservation and dissemination of the historical heritage amassed by MAXAM since its founding in 1872 by Alfred Nobel. It also organizes activities for the promotion and achievement of objectives linked to civic, social, educational, scientific and technological research and development.
Its main areas of activity are:
Its main areas of activity are:
- The organization, protection and conservation of the Company’s historical heritage.
- The management of the MAXAM Painting Collection, founded in 1899, which each year provides the image for the company’s famous Explosives Calendars.
- The House of the Explosive at Asturias’s Museum of Mining and Industry (www.mumi.es).
- The MAXAM Chair of Explosives Technology at the Higher Technical School of Mining Engineers at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), through which the Foundation has established training agreements with universities around the world (Brazil, Bolivia, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Australia…), and through which engineering students can conclude their studies in Spain, and later begin their professional careers within some of MAXAM's ’international projects.
