Due to circumstances arising from the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the continuing danger it poses to public health and safety, the NACE International Board of Directors announced that CORROSION 2020, NACE’s Annual Conference & Expo will not take place in Houston this June 14-18.

Originally scheduled for March 2020, the association postponed its conference based on guidelines available at that time from the U.S. Government, Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization. Since then the COVID-19 outbreak has escalated worldwide. 

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott recently issued an executive order which does not change prior orders prohibiting mass gatherings and events. The executive order also includes protocols that direct all Texans to minimize social gatherings and in-person contact with people who are not in the same household. 

 “As difficult as this is to accept, we simply cannot safely host our annual conference this June,” NACE International CEO Bob Chalker said. “No one worked harder to make this event happen than the staff and member leaders of NACE. Up until today we have been working to ensure our 2020 event in Houston would be our best yet. However, we understand these circumstances are beyond our control and this is the best way to protect our attendees, staff, and Houston community.”

Over the next few days and weeks, NACE will work with event venues, registrants, exhibitors, and sponsors to process all changes, refunds, transfers, etc. 

All questions can be directed to NACE International’s First Service team at firstservice@nace.org or by phone at 1-800-797-6223 (U.S./Canada) or +1-281-228-6223 worldwide. 

“We want to thank our exhibitors and attendees for their patience and enduring support,” said Chalker. “NACE staff is already working on creating an incredible event for 2021 in Salt Lake City and we look forward to reuniting our corrosion community next April.”