Q&A with Allen Porter: “Tanknology wants to expand into the Pacific Rim”

On February 18-20, Tanknology licensees came together for the first Tanknology International Licensee Summit in Barcelona, Spain, with the goal of strengthening partnerships and building relationships. Founded in the United States in 1988, Tanknology is one of the world’s largest provider of environmental compliance testing and inspection services. We spoke to the company’s CEO Allen Porter on the final day of the event.

Q. We’ve reached the end of the first Tanknology International Licensee Summit. What is your first assessment of the three-day event?

A. Overall it was very successful. Moreover, it demonstrated the commitment of all our licensee partners around the world – giving up their time and money to come here. I found the interchange and joint development of the agenda to be very productive in advance. Everyone came very prepared. For us it is important to demonstrate the support and ongoing commitment to our international partners; and to learn more about their markets, what they are looking for and how we may play a role in that.

Q. What are the key benefits of getting the licensees all together under one roof for a three-day period?

A. The first benefit would be the introduction of systems, processes and methods we are employing in the U.S. Second, the networking opportunity, the ability to have that interchange of all sorts of information. Many of these men had never met before so this was a first time to sit down and develop a relationship.

Q. When and why did the idea for an International Summit begin?

A. It started last year at UNIITI expo in Stuttgart. Megan and I were talking about the need to get everyone together. We have tried to bring them over to the U.S. in conjunction with the NACS PEI Show but it is very time competitive as our customer base is in the U.S. This concentrated focus, in Europe in particular, worked well.

Q. Have you already decided if the format will continue to take place in Barcelona? Will it be every year?

A. The preliminary plan is to do it every other year. We would like to do it at another geographical area. It will depend on the feedback, the participation level… It would be very nice to do this in conjunction with an industry event. The other element to decide is the geography of our licensees so they can show their offices, vehicles, etc.

Q. What areas of the world do identify as potential markets where you would like to increase your presence and look for new partners?

A. We want to continue our expansion into the Pacific Rim. We are already in Malaysia and moving into Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam… Those are growth markets. In Mexico, which is becoming a really big market, we have two licensees. In Latin America we feel we are well supported in the countries that are active and friendly toward regulations. The next step would be India. So far we have been unsuccessful in our efforts to introduce our technology into India. Finally, Eastern Europe.

Q. Do you have any major announcement for 2019 that you can tell us about?

A. We intend to have a smaller version of our tank cam to provide access to tanks that have less than a 60mm access point. That is probably the most significant step in product development.