Special ECED meeting approves Action Plan to create stronger
This was agreed at an Extraordinary General Assembly in Brussels, Belgium, convened by newly-elected ECED President, Dr. José Gameiro, in his role as board member of ACAP (the Portuguese Cars and Machinery Association).
The meeting asked the ECED membership to formally endorse the Action Plan (on which Dr. José Gameiro had based his nomination for election), which necessitated an adaptation of the by-laws to incorporate some of the proposals on expanding and strengthening the distributors' association at EU level.
"After a widely appreciated introduction by the president of his plan, and the positive reactions he had received so far from members, interested parties and other associations, an open and constructive debate among the present members led to the unanimous adoption of the proposed by-laws," said Tom Antonissen, ECED Secretary General.
One of the main innovations of the plan is the possibility of direct membership of independent distributors of machinery, equipment and material handling products, with a special focus on those European countries that do not (yet) have a national association member of the ECED, or to attract those distributors that have developed pan-European activities and wish to be involved in a trade federation active at EU level.
"Naturally, the founding members (national associations) will remain the main actors within the ECED, though it is envisaged that a significant amount of distribution companies will be very enthusiastic to join as well," said Dr. José Gameiro.
Dr. Gameiro, chairman of Portuguese machinery distribution company MOTIVO, has pledged that during his three-year term at the head of the association, he will make it a priority that the interests and concerns of dealers will be heard in Brussels, both by the European institutions and by other stakeholders, like both European associations of manufacturers and rental companies, with whom positive relations are being developed.
Some of the issues that the ECED deals with are the current and future situation of distributors with regards to EU Competition Law and their relation with manufacturers; the warranty conditions and service agreements on all machinery sold; the problem of theft from construction sites; the sales of used equipment and second-hand machinery; the development of an independent system of statistics; and education programmes as well as quality standards for engineers, operators and repairers of machinery.
The challenging programme for the ECED will be supported by the new Secretariat, managed by LOGOS Public Affairs (www.logos-eu.com), a move supported by the membership as they approved the (re)appointment of Tom Antonissen as Secretary General, a position he was keen to accept as it constituted for him a welcome reinstatement from a similar position (as deputy) he held between 2004 and 2006.
Such a symposium will combine both a "classic" ECED meeting with focus on EU topics of importance to the sector, with the opportunity for the dealers to engage in one-on-one commercial meetings with selected manufacturers that will display some of their latest products. More information on this initiative will follow during the next months.
The INTERMAT event (20-25 April, 2009) brings together the major players in the construction materials-production industry and is held every three years. With a net stand area of 180,000m² it also offers an outside demonstration area of 30,000m² on which exhibitors' machines perform in a gigantic open-air construction area.
The last event attracted 1,320 exhibitors (64% international) from 43 countries and the number of visitors totalled more than 209,000 (45% international visitors) representing 127 countries.
