As already established in recent years, this year on May 30, 2018, the general meeting of the European retreading association BIPAVER took place, this time at THE TIRE COLOGNE.
The BIPAVER General Assembly Took Place During The Tire Cologne Event
With topical issues on the agenda, such as the EU Commission’s anti-dumping / anti-subsidy proceedings against Chinese truck imports, various legislative and regulatory issues, and the future orientation of BIPAVER, around 25 representatives of the members attended the meeting.
After the opening of the meeting by Patrick Sjölin, representative of the Swedish Federation DRF and Acting President of BIPAVER, two new member representatives were welcomed: Mario Goldmann from “New Member” Zeiss and Steven Buytaert from Apollo Vredestein, succeeding Tony Coetzee.
The confirmation of the minutes of last year’s General Assembly in Bologna, as well as the adoption of the last year and this year’s financial plan of the Association were designed as a pure formality, and so the main topics of the agenda were dealt with:
Tim van der Rijken and Michael Schwämmlein – technical advisor to the association – informed the attendees about the current state of the Anti-Dumping/Anti-Subsidy process, as well as on the legal and regulatory issues such as labeling for retreaded tires, the new proposal of the EU Commission for adaptation / enlargement the EU Tire Labeling Guideline 1222/2009, the supplement of the directives ECE – R 108 and 109 regarding the snowflake / 3PMSF marking or the type testing / marking regulation for agricultural tyres and the possible effects and necessary preparations for the members.
The current market developments, the first effects of the imposition of temporary Anti-Dumping tariffs on Chinese new tyres by the EU Commission and the ongoing commitment of the member associations to secure and reach definitive Anti-Dumping / Anti-Subsidy measures in November were also discussed.
Another focus was the question of the future direction and strategy of the association in the changing economic and political environment.
In the form of a brief brainstorming session, the topics of the future core activities, the membership circle / engagement, the resources and the financing of the association as well as the anticipated external influences were mentioned. The collection of substances thus obtained should serve as the basis for further discussion.
The turnaround in the BIPAVER Board was also on the agenda: Patrick Sjölin resigned as President, and his office will now be headed by former Vice-President Jukka Lankolainen, from the Finnish association DRF. As new vice-president Tim Hercock was elected by the English association RMA. All members thanked the previous President for the work done and wished the new Executive Board every success for the upcoming tasks.
Thanks also went to all participants in the BRV who provided the framework organisation and the subsequent lunch buffet, during which this year’s members’ meeting ended. The next General Assembly is scheduled for AUTOPROMOTEC 2019 in Bologna, for which a warm invitation has already been issued by the Italian Association AIRP to all members.
