The Coal Trading Association this week officially merged into the American Coal Council. The months-long process was completed Monday following approval by both sides. The ACC announced the unification Wednesday.
"We are very excited of the opportunity to be part of the ACC and what lies ahead," CTA president Steve Watson of Arch Coal said. "The mission of the CTA will continue, which is to promote efficient and effective coal trading practices and procedures.
"Being part of the ACC gives us a bigger voice and a larger audience for the trading part of the industry," Watson said. "I think it makes us a stronger group, and that's a real benefit."
The two US-based organizations first talked about the move in earnest during the CTA's annual Coal Trading Conference in New York in early December. Since then, CTA and ACC officials have been in talks with their respective memberships about the idea.
Watson said it received "overwhelming support" from both CTA and ACC members.
As part of the unification, Watson and CTA Director Ginny Farrow of NRG Energy have been added to the ACC Board of Directors, and the ACC created a Coal Trading Committee, chaired by Watson, that will address coal trading-specific issues.
"We're very happy and excited of the move," ACC CEO Betsy Monseu said. "It really strengthens all of us as a whole by combining two groups that serve the coal sector into one larger, stronger organization."
Monseu added that creation of the ACC Coal Trading Committee would help bring trading matters in front of more coal participants and highlight a part of the industry which might be otherwise overlooked. She said that encompassing more of the coal trading area into the organization's business is a "mutual benefit" to both traders and the new ACC.
