Our 58th IREPAS meeting held at the Swissotel The Bosphorous in Istanbul, from 6th to 8th of April 2008, along with the SteelOrbis Spring 2008 Conference was a huge success. A record high total of 520 attendees registered and showed up for the meeting, and participated the committee discussions.

The welcome cocktail party which took place at the fantastic Rahmi Koc Museum located at the shores of Golden Horn, hosted an international steel sculpture exhibition organized by Fundaçion Villacero. Artworks by fourteen artists from across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia were exhibited.

Mr.Ricardo Hugas, the founder and former chairman of IREPAS, Mr. J.Villarreal the Chairman of Grupo Villacero, Mr. Andre Johannpeter the CEO of Gerdau Ameristeel, and Mr. Hilal Al-Tuwairqi the Chairman of Al-Tuwairqi Steel addressed the 520 participants of the conference at the beginning of the first session of the conference, following the IREPAS Chairman Mr Ugur Dalbeler’s opening remarks.