The COA’s 2025 Meeting, held in Barcelona, was a great success, bringing together over 100 participants from across the global container industry. The event featured a wide range of presentations and discussions covering key operational and technical topics – including container management, repair, coatings, floors, refrigerants, smart containers, and the latest industry standards.
The meeting opened with a welcome address from Patrick Hicks, COA General Secretary, who outlined the COA’s current projects, 2025 work programme, and upcoming events. He also provided an overview of the Association’s future developments and strategic direction.
Martin Schoeler, CEO of FLETEC, explored the Challenges and Opportunities for AI in the Container Industry, examining how artificial intelligence is being applied to maintenance and repair (M&R) processes and identifying the data and algorithmic challenges that must be addressed for further automation.
Frank Nachbar, Director – Global Container Service at Hapag Lloyd, presented an update on the CEDEX project, explaining why the new syntax has been developed, how it operates, and the status of its industry-wide implementation planned for 2026.
Nigel Stribley, Director of Blue Sky Intermodal, gave an engaging session on Container Coatings, focusing on the progress made with waterborne coatings and outlining possible pathways for next-generation coating solutions. Additional perspectives on coatings were provided by Fred Shi (Dowill) and Tom McAfee (PPG).
Frank Nachbar also shared insights into the latest Steel Floor Design Developments for containers, while Douglas Owen, Secretary General of the BIC, provided an important update on Hitchhiker Pests, highlighting potential new regulations and advocating preferred non-regulatory measures.
The afternoon sessions addressed two major technical themes: Reefers and Refrigerants — including developments in refrigerant technology.
Mark Bennett, Bennett Consultants, gave an overview of the current situation for Reefer Refrigerants, noting that at 4.5% growth over 7 years and to replace retirements, 1.45 million reefers will be purchased at c.$24 billion / 21€ billion. He posed the question about what refrigerant will buyers choose to install.
Kirsten Orschulok, Project lead, Greener Reefer project, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, explained the work, timetable and aims of the project that GIZ is developing.
There was also a short update on the COA Reefer Telematics UDM and an announcement that the UDM will be reviewed in the coming months.
This final session featured Marianna Levtov, Convenor of ISO TC104 AHG1 and TC104/SC4/WG2, and Douglas Owen, Chairman of TC104/SC4, who provided updates on ISO and IMO initiatives, including work on “Containers Lost at Sea” and smart container standardization.
The COA extends its sincere thanks to MissingDots, sponsor of the meeting’s Refreshment Breaks, and to BIC, sponsor of the post-conference Reception and Dinner. Their support helped make this year’s meeting both productive and enjoyable.
Overall, the Barcelona meeting reflected the strong engagement and collaboration within COA and the container industry in general, as it continues to innovate and adapt to evolving technical, environmental, and digital challenges.
