Montreal—(Kitco News)—The chairman of the 34th edition of the International Precious Metals Institute Conference (IPMI) says the industry needs to embrace change and capitalize on gold’s current momentum.

The IPMI conference is taking place in Tucson, Arizona, June 12 to 15 and is a members-only event that attracts some of the biggest movers and shakers in the field. The conference is entitled, “Crisis? What Crisis? Precious Metals in a World Beyond its Tipping Point,” and was inspired by a Supertramp song says Bodo Albrecht, who is the chair.

Albrecht explains that many in the industry fear change, which prevents the sector from growing. “They want one thing not to happen, and that is for the world to change. I consider myself part of a new generation because I am challenging the status quo,” said Albrecht, who in his full-time role is as President of BASIQ Corporation.

 Albrecht said “the parameters right now are excellent for change.  “My pitch is we must use this momentum of having so much power in the industry; power in terms of creative people and power in terms of funds available; to transform our industry to continue to be the center of new development,” he said referring to gold’s current popularity.

More and more people are moving into gold mostly due to market uncertainty, said Albrecht. “There is more business volume, more people buying and selling – what I am hearing is that people are  buying coins like crazy, especially in Switzerland, because everyone expects the stock market to take another dive ,” he said.
Spreading the message that change is needed will be easier with this edition of the conference, said Albrecht. Record attendance of approximately 600 people is expected, double from ten years ago.

During the conference Albrecht will also unveil his latest project, the Alchemist Club, which is a career website specifically for the precious metals industry. The site is free of charge and a place for companies to recruit knowledgeable staff. (www.alchemist-club.com) 

“I have had requests from major companies to have their own groups on the site because they have a hard time finding qualified people,” said Albrecht of his inspiration for the site.

“There is so much recycling take place, people lose a job in one precious metal company and simply go to another – there is too little influx from other industries,” he said, noting that is part of the reason there is little change in the industry.
Making the site available to other industries is part of the plan, says Albrecht, but notes it will also be part of challenge. 

The Alchemist Club is by-invitation only, those interested can email alchemist@basiq.com

--By Daniela Cambone of Kitco News dcambone@kitco.com