Bullet points

A quick skip through some of the activities and events in and around the Construction Equipment Association…

● Sad to report the death of David Barrell at the age of 97. David was the longtime Director General of the FMCEC, the CEA’s predecessor organisation. He was also the Secretary General of the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE), before it moved its HQ to Brussels. A charitable donation to the British Heart Foundation has been made in his memory.

● The Department for International Trade (DIT) has discontinued TAP (the Tradefair Access Programme) for official British groups at overseas trade shows. Nevertheless the CEA remains committed to organising a British presence at the BAUMA exhibition , in Munich (24/30 October 2022). Ask Joanna Oliver at the CEA office for further information.

● The CEA’s popular Power Hour webinars are planned to continue on a monthly basis. The most recent (September) featured speakers from the Association of Equipment Distributors (AED) – providing tips on accessing the USA market. There have been nearly 1,000 registrations for the Power Hour series to date.

● The 2021 CPA Conference is being held on Thursday 14th October 2021 at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre, Fillongley near Coventry. The theme of this year’s Conference is ‘Net Zero Carbon, and Digitalisation: The Challenge of Change for the Plant Sector’ .

● The CEA’s sustainability statement will inform our activity on a number of fronts going forward. It states, “We believe in playing a proactive role in helping our member businesses, their people and their communities survive and thrive in an environmentally sensitive and sustainable today and tomorrow… The CEA’s policy is to proactively engage with government, its agencies and industry stakeholders to facilitate the application of expertise for informed, practical and progressive policymaking as new environmental targets are set”.

● The CEA welcomes Chris Blin (HR manager, Caterpillar, Industrial Power Systems) as the new chair of the Association’s Skills, Education & Training (SET) Group. The Group is being reactivated after being unable to progress due to the covid-19 constraints. Contact the CEA office for further information. ● The CEA Management Council met in person last month for the first time since early 2020 – during pandemic restrictions the Council held regular online meetings. Amongst a number of decisions, the Council gave the go ahead to restore in person meetings of the CEA’s International Business Group (IBG) . The IBG offers a forum to exchange views, information and best practice in tackling overseas markets.

● National Highways (formerly Highways England) have published their “net zero” targets and set three challenges 1) corporate emissions net zero by 2030, 2) maintenance and construction emissions net zero by 2040, and 3) road user emissions net zero by 2050. The CEA and its members will continue to work with National Highways on their net zero mission.

● Mecalac’s Alexandre Marchetta takes up the position of CECE President from January next year. His father, Henri, held the same role some in 2008/09, representing the French member trade association (CISMA, now Evolis). The CEA has been invited to nominate the Vice-President of CECE, with a view to assuming the Presidency in 2024.

● In a ground breaking initiative the CEA and the Plantworx team have linked up with leading publishers, KHL , to produce a new fortnightly newsletter going to the CEA database and the Plantworx community – some 19,000 contacts plus extensive social media exposure.

● The CEA is working with, leading engineering consultants, Atkins, to assist Transport Scotland in exceeding their national environmental targets for their infrastructure development projects. This includes charting the predicted landscape for the adoption of greener power sources for construction machines in the lead up to a state of carbon neutrality.

● The CEA has joined the Climate Action for Associations (CAFA) organisation. CAFA provides guidance on reaching “net zero” for trade and professional associations – and offers a forum for membership bodies to exchange best practice on how best to help their membership meet environmental targets.