International Tar Association

Andrew Jones is an independent analyst and researcher on the mineral commodity markets. He established Resource-Net in Brussels, Belgium in 1999. Resource-Net's main interest lies in metallurgical reductants, producing regular research on the global markets for:

• Metallurgical and foundry coke
• Anthracite for reduction applications, metallurgical coke replacements
• Metallurgical coals (coking, PCI)

Andrew has more than 20 years' professional experience, including periods of employment at Metal Bulletin Research (London) and Standard Bank (Johannesburg). Professional qualifications include an honours degree in metallurgy from the University of Sheffield and a masters degree in multinational commerce from Boston University Brussels.

Graduated from Tianjin Foreign Languages Institute and majored in International Trade. 1994 – 2002, worked in a famous international trading house named Nichimen Corporation in Tianjin, China and deeply engaged in international business, including machinery, auto parts, bearings, electric appliances and chemical products.
1992 – 2006, worked in JECT Corporation Beijing office, mainly working for all kinds of carbon business, including Needle Coke, Graphite Electrode, Green Petroleum Coke, Calcined Petroleum Coke, Metallurgical Coke, Foundry Coke, Coal Tar Pitch and recarb etc. Heavily provided raw materials to steel, aluminum and chemical industries with rich experience and technical knowledge.
Since 2007, worked in East River Asia Limited as consultant to provide professional services to the customers all over the word with Chinese carbon and chemical industries.

Dr. Zygmunt Stompel received his MSc diploma in coal science from Silesian Technical University in Gliwice, and immediately after joined the Institute for Chemical Processing of Coal in Zabrze, where he spent the next 20 years. In the Research & Development sector Dr. Stompel specialized in processing of coal tar, with particular attention paid to pitch and pitch coke. His PhD thesis (in 1978) was devoted to the subject of manufacturing of pitch coke of improved graphitizability.
In 1991 Dr. Stompel left the Institute and has established a private company Coal-Chem Engineers & Consultants. As a consultant he participated in several international projects aimed at improving efficiency of coal tar industry in Poland and abroad.
Dr Stompel taught coal tar science at Silesian Technical University in Gliwice and Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Krakow. He is active as a consultant on coal tar matters for various Polish and international organizations.

Paul Ita runs Notch Consulting, Inc., a Massachusetts-based research company dedicated to the market research needs of the global specialty chemicals industry. Mr. Ita focuses on the raw material supply chain for the global tire and rubber industries, with a particular focus on carbon black, recovered carbon black, precipitated silica, and rubber chemicals.

Mr. Tim Bart is the owner of Carbon Management International, a consulting company formed in 1999. Since 2017, Mr. Bart has been working with Mr. Guercio reporting on carbon black feedstock through the CBO Monitor publication. Prior to 2017, Carbon Management was primarily involved in global coal tar and coal tar distillation, consulting and sourcing distillation products for related downstream industries. Mr. Bart is also involved with the management of the International Tar Association, serving as the association’s president since 2014. Mr. Bart received degrees in Environmental Science, Masters of Business Administration, Masters of Communications and Masters of International Relations from Rutgers University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Seton Hall University.

Mr. Greg Traczek has been a member of the coal tar distillation industry since 1989, working for multiple companies in various roles in quality control, operations, logistics, raw material purchasing, and sales. He is currently Director of Raw Material Purchasing & Distillate Sales for Rain Carbon. Greg has a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, and an MBA from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL. Greg currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife, Stephanie, and their daughters.

Sven Leonhard serves as Director of Global Purchasing at Resonac Graphite Business Unit, a global leader in the production of artificial graphite—an essential material supporting decarbonization and the broader energy transition. The business unit employs over 1,200 people worldwide and generates more than USD 400 million in annual revenue, with operations spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas. As part of Resonac, a multinational chemical group with approximately 21,500 employees and USD 9 billion in revenue across seven business divisions, the organization is positioned at the forefront of innovation and sustainable industrial growth.
Mr. Leonhard brings more than 30 years of experience in the steel industry, with a strong focus on procurement and supply chain management. Throughout his career, he has led initiatives to drive innovation within purchasing processes, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency and cost optimization. He holds a Bachelor Professional qualification in Mechanical Engineering Technologies and is a certified technician.

Mr. Leff founded Alan Leff Associates, Inc. in 1991 to help companies use computer technology to achieve business requirements. Alan graduated with degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University (BSEE) in 1974, and Ohio State University (MSEE) in 1977. Mr. Leff received his Professional Engineer license from the State of New York in 1979. Alan continued his formal education earning IT Certificates in Web Development from RVCC in 2015, and Advanced Cybersecurity from Stanford in 2022. Mr. Leff has over 50 years of professional experience and continuously learning new technology. His consulting practice has focused on understanding client businesses and implementing solutions that meet their needs. The ITA has been our client for over 12 years.

Paul Adkins is Founder and Managing Director of AZ Global Consulting, a specialist consultancy focused on the global aluminium industry, with particular expertise in raw materials, carbon, China and market strategy.
Paul has more than 30 years of experience in the aluminium industry, including senior roles with Alcoa, Tomago Aluminium and Alcan Australia. In 2001, he became Raw Materials Manager at Tomago Aluminium and, in 2005, was seconded to Alcan to establish its Global Sourcing office in Beijing. He was also involved in Alcan’s FECRI project, which focused on reducing the cost of building new aluminium smelters. After completing his assignment in China, Paul remained there and established his own consulting business. He has led AZ Global Consulting since 2007.
AZ Global provides market intelligence, multi-client studies and consulting services to aluminium producers, raw-material suppliers, financial institutions and other industry participants. Its work covers aluminium, petroleum coke, calcined coke, anodes, coal tar pitch, project development, supply-chain risk and the changing structure of the global aluminium industry.
Paul holds an undergraduate degree from Deakin University and an MBA with Merit from the Newcastle Graduate School of Management in Australia.

Etienne Petit has a chemical engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille (France). He is also post-graduated in chemical process from the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France).
He started his career as a Research Engineer at the fluid dynamics department of IRSID, the R&D centre of Usinor-Sacilor (French steel making group to become ArcelorMittal). Then he joined the Centre de Pyrolyse de Marienau (CPM), the R&D centre for coals, cokes and coke-making processes belonging to ArcelorMittal and Zentral Kokerei Saar, to lead several projects in the coke-making process. He participated to the European project REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation for Chemicals) by registering the ArcelorMittal coke ovens by-products at the European Chemistry Agency. Since 2012, he is in charge of the coordination of the coke ovens by-products sales for ArcelorMittal Europe.

Dr. Fengqin Liu is a Professor of Engineering and recipient of various government subsidies as well as the National Technical Talent award. She is the Technical Manager at the China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co. Ltd.; Deputy Director of China Non-Ferrous Metals Institute Light Metal Academic Committee; Director of Aluminum-used Carbon Research Committee; and is a member of the China Non-Ferrous Metals Association Expert Committee.
As the well-known expert in aluminum smelting and aluminum-used carbon fields, Dr. Liu was in charge of setting up technological development planning and standards for relative industries. She led dozens of major scientific and technical projects at both provincial and national levels, solving a series of technical problems in the aluminum smelting industry. She hosted three international aluminum-used carbon conferences. As a scientist and expert in her field, she was invited to visit and conduct collaborative research in Australia, the U.S. and Switzerland, and gave large-scale presentations at several international metallurgy conferences.
Some of Dr. Liu’s published achievements include: “The Key Technology of Quality Carbon Anode for Aluminum Smelting”, “The Integrated Technologies to Improve the Life Span of Aluminum Smelting Cell”, “The Technology of New Structure for Aluminum Smelting Cell”, and “The New Technology of Wettable Cathode Production”. She is the recipient of the National Science & Technology Progress Award, has won the Provincial & Ministerial Award three times, and many other awards in recognition of her technological contributions and she has designed 50 national patents.
Dr. Liu is published in English as well: “Chinese Raw Materials for Anode Manufacturing”, “Production Technology of Aluminum Smelting" and “Production Technology of Aluminum-used Carbon” under the series of China Non-Ferrous Metals book selection. She is also the main author of the Carbon Volume for the “Encyclopedia of Metallurgy”, “Manual of Aluminum Production Technology" and “Advances of Nonferrous Metals” and has delivered over 40 papers on the importance of technical conferences and journals both at home and abroad.