BIPAVER, the European Retreading and Tyre Trade Association has announced that it is to move its headquarters from Leiden in the Netherlands to Bonn, Germany with effect from April 1st, 2020.
BRV to Manage Secretariat
At the same time, the responsibility for co-ordinating BIPAVER’s activities, a role currently carried out by the Dutch VACO association, will now be assumed by the German BRV association (German Tyre Retail and Vulcanisation Trade Association).
The decision to relocate the headquarters was taken partly due to the fact that the number of retreading operations represented by VACO had been declining in the past few years, making the Dutch association less able to maintain the BIPAVER Secretariat, but was precipitated by the fact that Tim van der Rijken, VACO’s acting general secretary, who also acted as BIPAVER’s secretary-general, will resign from office on March 31st, 2020.
After intensive counselling sessions, the BIPAVER board therefore decided to move its headquarters to the BRV located in Bonn in April. The acting BIPAVER technical secretary Michael Schwämmlein, who is also the BRV technical secretary, will continue this task. Meanwhile, BRV general secretary Yorick M. Lowin will assume the role of general secretary of BIPAVER with effect from April 1, 2020.
„Both the European retreading industry as well as the trade need a European association in order to participate politically in Brussels and technically in Geneva when it comes to legislation,” commented acting BIPAVER-president Jukka Lankolainen from the Finnish association AUTONRENGASLIITTO R.Y. (ARL). “After VACO’s decision, we are convinced that it is the right way to move BIPAVER’s headquarters to those of the BRV, an association which has always been committed to the European umbrella organisation.”
