26 October 2010

2010 Eumabois general assembly in Vienna: President re-elected

The General Assembly of Eumabois – the European Federation of woodworking machinery manufacturers – was held in Vienna last 24 September, hosted by the Austrian association.
The Delegates substantially confirmed the existing Board of Directors, except for one member, Mr. Marcial Paris of Afemma, Spain, who retired for personal reasons and was replaced by Mr. Heikki Sonninen of the Finnish Association. As a result, the Eumabois Board now consists of:

President: FRANZ-JOSEF BUETFERING – VDMA, GERMANY
Vice President: AMBROGIO DELACHI – ACIMALL, ITALY
Member: ZDENEK BEZDEK - SVDSZ, CZECH REPUBLIC
Member: HEIKKI SONNINEN – TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES OF FINLAND
Member: NIELS ERIK LUNDVIG – SMT – DENMARK

The Board will serve for a 3-year term and guide the Federation to new achievements.

JEAN PAUL BALZ - HBT - SWITZERLAND has been confirmed as treasurer;
GIANNI GHIZZONI - ACIMALL - ITALY is Past President.

The topics on the agenda included: the status of exhibitions worldwide, with significant modifications and variations in dimensions and number of visitors induced by the economic crisis;
technical standards, an area that is closely monitored and financed by the Federation; and the creation of working groups to harmonize European standards with extra-European ISO standards.
It was also decided that the Federation will be involved in the creation of a small joinery workshop for homeless children and other young people in the existing community of Varanasi, India, one of the poorest regions of the country.
The Delegates reported exhaustively about the economic situation in general and the current recovery in the industry, which seems to have finally started, though with different trends in each country.
Export from European countries is going back to significant growth rates. The next Assembly will be held in October 2011 in a European country to be selected soon.