June Extraordinary General Assembly of ECED
June Extraordinary General Assembly of ECED approves Action Plan to create a stronger EU representation for distributors!
Brussels, 30 June 2008
On 19 June 2008, the members of the European Confederation of Equipment Distributors (ECED) gathered in Brussels for an Extraordinary General Assembly, which had been convened by its newly elected President, José Gameiro, in his role as Board member of the Portuguese Association ACAP.
The aim of this meeting was to formally endorse the Action Plan - on which Mr. Gameiro had based his nomination for election - by the ECED membership, which necessitated an adaptation of the by-laws to incorporate some of the proposals to expand and strengthen 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 lead to the unanimous adoption of the proposed by-laws.
A main innovation that has been introduced is the possibility for 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.
Mr. Gameiro has pledged that during his 3-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.
This 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 to Secretary General, a position Mr. Antonissen was keen to accept as it constituted for him a welcome reinstatement from a similar position (as Deputy) he held between 2004 and 2006.
Consequently, this new impetus should result in the first-ever "ECED Distributors’ Day" which is planned to take place on 20 April 2009 in Paris, to coincide with the well- known international exhibition INTERMAT. 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 newest products. More information on this initiative will follow during the next months.
For more information, please check www.eced-association.org, or contact José Gameiro (jose.gameiro@eced-association.org) or Tom Antonissen (tom.antonissen@eced- association.org).