EEA Annual General Meeting in Istanbul

Officers and tasks for 2013 were discussed at this group’s first gathering outside of Europe.

The European Elevator Association (EEA) held its 2013 Annual General Meeting on April 2 at the Hyatt Hotel in Istanbul. EEA members are lift- and escalator-related companies, both major and independent operators. The association’s mission statement was displayed near the presentation podium and read, “The EEA represents lift companies, large and small, to the European institutions. Its experts actively support European and global standardization. Join us and help promote lift safety.” This was the first official EEA Annual General Meeting to take place outside Europe.

To keep the proceedings compliant with European Union regulation, all presentations were delivered in both French and English. EEA President Jorge Liguerre introduced the agenda and welcomed attendees. The management report was presented by Luc Rivet, who informed that sustained effort had been made to keep the costs down, while keeping the association active and visible.

Attendees were also informed that the EEA officers for 2013 would remain the same, with Liguerre (president), Inaki Aranburu, Javier del Pozo, Achim Hütter, Philippe Lamalle, Juha Mennander and Roberto all willing and able to continue for 2013. In addition, it was announced that D. Fothergill had retired from the association, and the officers expressed their gratitude for his service to the association. Didier Moreaux then presented the budget for 2013, which all members approved.

It was announced during the presentation that Eric Rougie would be joining the Budget Committee and that Thierry Tasiaux would be the new chairman, effective April 4. Moreaux went on to discuss that the association’s position was financially sound. Higher income was seen due to a higher-than-expected number of people employed by the member companies.

Moreaux then announced and explained the main tasks for the forthcoming year, which include:

• To track and forecast the accounts
• Propose the next budget and recommendations to the management committee
• Pursue cash-flow management

Toward the end of the meeting, it was stated that four member companies had left, and 15 new companies joined the association. This was encouraging.