Hosted by Mr Gábor Várkonyi from Graboparkett and the parquet manufacturers in Hungary, the 49th FEP General Assembly and European parquet congress were held in Budapest from 9 to 11 June 2005. For the first time, the meeting was also attended by the new members from the supplying industries, providing room for additional discussions and debate. The participants in the assembly were welcomed by Mr Péter Jancsó, CEO of Graboplast. In this opening address, FEP Chairman Dieter Betz pointed towards the general economic situation and the main drivers affecting the parquet industries. Despite the tough framework conditions, both consumption and production could be increased substantially, though questions were put on overcapacity in Europe and the market conditions as such. According to Dieter Betz, the leading manufacturers regrouped within FEP have an important role to play in further developing the market for parquet and wood flooring. To this aim, FEP last year started a market research project with Prof. Van Ossel and also created a marketing working group to explore ways of creating bigger parquet volumes on the European market. Mr Betz also browsed through the other activities of FEP on behalf and for the European parquet industries, such as the classification discussions with US customs, contacts with organisations in other parts of the world, the development of the statistical system etc. During the statutory part of the General Assembly, the members accepted the activity report of the secretariat, the accounts for 2004/2005 and budget for 2006 and endorsed the composition of the FEP.

To see the report about the meeting, please click here.