The secret behind i3net’s sell-out Industry Showcase
The Showcase puts Illawarra industry in the room for what’s next.
Demand to get in front of some of the Illawarra’s biggest industrial players has helped sell out this year’s i3net Industry Showcase, with organisers now facing a capacity problem for 2027.
Nine years ago, i3net could fit its Industry Showcase expo and dinner into the same ballroom at the Novotel Wollongong North Beach.
This year, the dinner has sold out the ballroom, the expo has spilled outside and CEO Bianca Perry says the organisation may need a bigger venue next year.
The 280 attendees at the 14th annual i3net Industry Showcase, on August 25 and 26, will hear how energy, AI and Australian capability are shaping the future of industry.
The event will examine how businesses are responding to changing energy needs, the rapid adoption of AI and automation, and the opportunity for local industry to contribute to the major projects ahead.
Perry said it was difficult to separate the three, with energy fundamental to industry, AI and automation changing how businesses operate, and capability determining how Australian businesses participate in the investment ahead.
“People who don’t adopt [AI] will be left behind,” Perry said.
“What are those advances going to be? What implications are they going to have?”
She said strengthening industry capability was equally important as businesses looked to contribute to major projects and Australia’s sovereign capability.
The Showcase Dinner will feature industry and energy panels, along with an AI presentation from Julian Moore.
The Industry Panel includes senior representatives from Downer, GM³, Port Authority of NSW and X-ELIO, with discussions spanning transport, ports, mining, renewable energy and major projects.
The following morning, five senior BlueScope leaders will front the annual Townhall Breakfast, covering manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and carbon, procurement and the No.6 Blast Furnace Reline.
Perry said the BlueScope Townhall was a rare opportunity for members to put questions directly to senior managers.
“That’s really a once-in-the-year opportunity for members to have a really great conversation and ask the questions that matter to them in a group setting,” she said.
But the formal program is only part of what has driven demand for the Showcase.
i3net deliberately invites senior representatives from major companies inside and outside the Illawarra to attend and engage with local businesses.
“Those people are in the room knowing their brief is to engage and they’re there because they want to be there and they do want to connect,” Perry said.
“I think that’s the magic of this particular Industry Showcase event that others don’t do.”
While i3net can’t put a dollar figure on the work generated through the event, its post-event surveys show individual businesses reporting between five and 15 new leads.
“People telling us that they made 15 or 12 leads of interest for their business is pretty significant,” Perry said.
Perry said the Showcase had also been designed around the realities of running a business, with targeted presentations and plenty of time to make connections.
“Everyone’s so busy. No one has time just to come to an event to catch up with people,” she said.
“It’s not death by presentation.”
The approach has seen the Showcase grow from one of the Novotel’s smaller rooms to filling its largest.
“We definitely will need to look at what’s coming up next because the response has been so strong,” Perry said.
If you missed out on a ticket to the i3net Industry Showcase, you can join the waiting list by emailing: i3net@i3net.com.au
Industry Panel
Daniel Chaplin – Director Delivery Strategy, Downer
Gabrielle Foodey – Project Manager, VAM Project, GM³
Peter Ernst – Head of Regional Ports, Port Authority of NSW
Mandy Allonby – Senior Project Developer, X-ELIO
Moderator: Nick Rheinberger, ABC Illawarra
BlueScope Townhall Panel
David Scott – General Manager Manufacturing
Michael Yiend – Head of Property and Infrastructure
Megan Ritchie – Head of Energy and Carbon
Tim Jansen – Regional Head of Procurement
Justin Reed – No.6 Blast Furnace Reline Project Director
Energy Panel
Lym Garratt – Manager Regional Coordination, Illawarra, EnergyCo
Prachi Agrawal – Chief of Staff & Head of Investor Relations, Hysata
Ty Christopher – Director, Energy Futures Network, University of Wollongong
James Hazelton – Manager Future Grid Strategy, Endeavour Energy