UKLA President’s Report
I am writing this on the day of the Poll for our continuing Membership, or not, of the European Union with no real idea of the possible result. Perhaps we will wake up to a Brave New World tomorrow!
This is the last Report of my Presidency which seems ironic given that my previous Report was at the halfway stage; I hand over to Steve Mayo in September but with no further UKLA Board Meetings and this last edition of Lube before September this is my swansong.
The year has been a pleasure, but it has been all too short with mixed emotions that a single year term is too short to achieve a great deal but with such a strong future pipeline of Presidents it is the right approach to keep on refreshing the Presidency.
Naturally at this point I would like to thank the Team in Berkhamsted, led by David Wright, ably assisted by Debs and Megan, and also Suzy and Laurie for their media activities. The Board of UKLA and especially past President, Simon Brander, have been very supportive, but the person who probably deserves much praise for his support and is never in the limelight is long-time Treasurer, Nigel McDonald, who is incredibly committed to the role.
What exactly will I hand over to Steve Mayo? A Trade Association in rude financial health, with a strong and
consistent Membership, a number of very successful annual events as well as a strong Board and succession plan. David Hopkinson also provides strong representation for UKLA on the Board of UEIL in Brussels supported by the various Committee Members, Tim Bates, Nigel Bottom and Caroline Slinn.
Clouds on the horizon include the possibility of Lubricants being included in EMCS with all the attendant bureaucracy and cost and the potential for a rapidly
changing Automotive vehicle park in the aftermath of Dieselgate.
But with favourable raw material prices and a strong supply of raw materials our Members should be in a golden patch from a business perspective and be investing for the future – whatever that may bring!
It has been my pleasure and great honour to be President of UKLA – my thanks to RS Clare for supporting me and to all of you, the readers of Lube magazine, for a great year.
Hugh Dowding UKLA President
UEIL President’s Report
Summer is here, and topics are certainly getting hotter: On access to technical information, UEIL has joined forces with AFCAR in order to ensure the abusive practices of some OEMs stop;
On lubes taxation, very important steps have been taken over the past few months, with support confirmed from a number of Member States to block the initiative that wants to tax lubes in all EU countries – next meetings to take place in Autumn on this topic; On REACH, the European Commission is now reviewing the results of the survey circulated to companies, in order to understand the impact of REACH on companies’ activities – a report is expected in 2017. This is the perfect opportunity to let the Commission know how it has impacted you, so let us know if you have something to say.
The UEIL troops met between 24-26 May 2016 in Brussels to discuss the above and other topics. I would like to take a few lines at this point to commend the work done by the UEIL membership fees taskforce, which has worked hard to set-up a new framework for the membership fees in upcoming years – further news to be circulated to members soon. The next UEIL meetings will take place in September.
The GEIR members held a conference call in May, as well to discuss pressing EU policy matters. With the waste framework directive revision quickly moving forward and the Ecolabel criteria revision for lubricants taking place now, GEIR is making sure that its members’ interests are represented at all possible levels.
In these months I had the opportunity to enjoy some amazing events: the first were the UNITI Congress in Stuttgart and the ELGI Annual General Meeting in Venice. The first was, as usual, incredibly well organised with interesting topics in fuels and lubricants sectors and with still a record of attendance: 600 delegates! ELGI in Venice was an amazing experience. Thanks to the organisation of Terry Dicken with the inevitable support of Carol Koopman the event was very successful and plenty of interesting topics focused on sustainability. I had the honour to participate in the Food Grade Lubricants Working
Group as well, led by André Adam with a great number of attendees. I was so well impressed by the Food Grade Lubricants World that I decided to invite André to our Congress in Berlin in order to provide the UEIL audience with an overview of this interesting sector of our industry. Last but not least, the Masquerade Ball Gala Dinner, absolutely in keeping with the setting of Venice in the frame of the historic Molino Stucky Hotel, was a unique and unrepeatable experience.
Instead of Brussels, the ATIEL General Assembly (GA) was held in Lyon. The GA was followed by the Technical Seminar. TOTAL was extremely kind and friendly to host the Seminar as well as organise the visit of Solaize laboratories. The Seminar has ranged from future trends in the automotive sector to the future lube oil tests we will need to satisfy the OEMs’ requirements.
The next event not to miss is of course the UEIL Congress in Berlin: a great turnout is expected! Take a look at the interesting programme we have put together for you: from mobility of the future and how lubricants will be needed (an address led by Blake Eskew, this year’s keynote speaker), to incorporate social responsibility obligations for our companies, we will cover a wide range of interesting topics affecting our industry. The Gala Dinner at the unusual and original waterworks museum Wasserwerk will delight the networking and social part of the event, as usual. Thank you to all our sponsors, and a special thank you to Fuchs Lubricants, our main sponsors this year! There is still some sponsorship left – don’t hesitate to contact us! And, don’t forget, registrations are open!
www.ueil.org
Have a good summer break!
Fabio Dalla Giovanna UEIL President
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.134 AUGUST 2016
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