News and objectives for the future emerged at the annual Eumabois assembly – the federation that gathers together 14 national associations of woodworking technology and accessory manufacturers held in September, in Verona, Italy.
The event was hosted by Acimall, the Confindustria member association that represents the Italian manufacturers of wood processing machinery and accessories. Eleven countries participated (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia and Spain) through the representatives of the respective national associations. Portugal and Slovakia were absent.
AIMSAD, the Turkish association of woodworking technology, components and semi-finished materials companies that recently joined Eumabois, was also represented.
President Ambrogio Delachi opened the meeting with a significant speech: “Special greetings to the newly-born Turkish association, currently including seven members, a number that will certainly increase in the coming years.
“Turkey is a significant market and the new association will certainly contribute to the activity of our federation, providing valuable information about an industry that is growing quickly and relentlessly.”
Mr Delachi then continued with an analysis of the current market situation, characterised by uncertainty and instability, as shown by recent political tension in Russia and Brazil. To overcome this period, the president said: “We need to introduce merging and partnership processes both in manufacturing and in sales, so as to empower the organisation and be able to face challenges that will inevitably increase.”
The key topic on the agenda of the Eumabois Assembly was the significant news and enhancement plans for existing activities.
A point strongly put forward was the idea to restore the exhibitions committee, a working group made up of the representatives of major European manufacturers of woodworking technology, with the aim of identifying a shared and rational exhibition calendar.
“My intention is to restore the exhibitions committee,” said Mr Delachi, “and to organise a meeting among the major manufacturers to discuss the issue of industry exhibitions. A well co-ordinated exhibition policy in line with market requirements is a priority and can help Eumabois increase its credibility towards external partners, especially exhibition organisers.”
Among other material news, it was reaffirmed that Finland will have only one industry exhibition to be held in Jyväskylä, the next one scheduled for September 2015. The Eumabois secretariat also mentioned two new entries to the network, namely Fenafor in Lima, Peru, and IWF, the biennial show held in Atlanta, US.
The assembly also focused on current negotiations with exhibitions in emerging markets such as Chile, Colombia and Iran.
On other matters, president Delachi also reported the decision to create a working group within the Eumabois board, made up of vice-president Juergen Koppel, the Swiss representative Erich Zeller and Carlo Alberto Strada, who will take the role of Eumabois activity co-ordinator starting from January 2015.
This group will be in charge of the definition of new evaluation criteria for exhibitions supported by the federation. Its mission will be aimed at increasing the credibility and value of exhibitions within the Eumabois network towards their target audience.
The agenda also included a discussion of technical/standard topics, an area where the federation has been working for many years with excellent results. Eumabois is financing the management of technical committees in charge for the definition of safety standards for woodworking machinery in Europe and worldwide.
Last but not least, the promotion of ‘made in Europe’ was also dealt with. President Delachi stressed that: “To enhance the image of Eumabois we have to work together with international exhibition organisers in order to achieve system-wide growth.” The federation secretariat was entrusted to collect advice and suggestions from all stakeholders to define an innovative marketing plan in 2015.
The meeting ended with the information that the next assembly will be hosted by Symop (the French association of instrumental mechanical equipment), in a date and location still to be defined.
