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AGM Conference – Wednesday 17 March 2010
Please put St Patrick's Day 2010 in your diary now – but not just to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland. Wednesday 17 March is the date selected for the next CEA AGM Conference. We will return to One Great George Street, Westminster for the 6th year running. Expect to see around 150 industry leaders, experts and opinion formers at the event. The timing, during the run up to the anticipated General Election, will provide an opportunity for us to underline the importance of our industry to the national economy. As usual, there will be an opportunity for members to showcase their products – to reserve a display area please e-mail our Events Team –
cea@admin.co.uk. |
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Machinery Directive
The new Machinery Directive has been transposed into the UK Machinery Regulations 2008, which become law on 29 December 2009. These replace the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992, as amended, which have been in force since 1 January 1993. The UK Government Department,
BIS, has issued a guidance document to help manufacturers and the official European Commission guidance will be launched at a conference in Brussels on 9 December. This guidance, which has enjoyed significant input from industry, will be invaluable in providing the necessary clarifications and interpretations. However, there will be many occasions, without doubt, when questions need answering and the CEA will continue to play an active part on behalf of our members. |
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Technical Standards Database
The CEA Standards Database, Edition 1.0, is now available for members to download from the home page of the CEA website
www.coneq.org.uk. A password is required to open the database, which can be obtained by e-mailing
cea@admin.co.uk.
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CEA Discussion Forums
Have you joined the CEA’s discussion forums on the website? Once registered, CEA members can use the forums to share and exchange information. There are three discussion areas for the exclusive use of CEA members – Technical, International and Business. Current topics include the Machinery Directive and Batteries Regulations in the Technical forum and the Excon Exhibition in International.
To register:
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Go to
www.coneq.org.uk |
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2. |
Click on any of the Members’ Discussion Boards. |
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The “public” Construction Equipment Industry Forum will appear. In order to use the three members’ only forums you have to register. |
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Click on “register” (right hand side under “user” and “psw” boxes) and follow the instructions. |
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You will then be sent an automatic e-mail from
robot@coneq.org.uk asking you to activate your membership (just click the link). |
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To avoid non-members registering, the CEA will verify that you are a member, and you will receive an e-mail from us notifying you that you have access. |
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Each subsequent time you wish to use the forums, just enter your user name and password. |
Using
the forums:
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Click
on the forum you wish to use – Technical,
Business or International. |
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You
have the choice to click on a thread already
posted – and add a reply – or you can start a
new thread. |
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Once
a message is added – click “home” to get
back into the forums. |
If
you run into any problems, please either email cea@admin.co.uk,
or call Kim Fitzpatrick on 020 8253 4502. |
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CECE Summit 2009 Presentations
The presentations given at the recent CECE Summit can be found in the members’ only area of
www.coneq.org.uk.
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Member Survey
If you have received a request to complete a survey and haven’t yet done so, this is a gentle reminder that the deadline is today. The survey only takes a few minutes to complete and your input will help to assist the CEA in continuing to represent your interests and to provide the services you value. If you need the link to survey re-sent, please email
cea@admin.co.uk.
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Construction in the UK Economy
The CEA has offered its support to the UK Contractors Group commissioned report on Construction in the UK Economy. The report highlights the value of the benefits of construction investment to the UK economy. Construction activity is estimated to contribute between 8.5 and 10 per cent of the entire UK economy. This represents in the order of 300,000 companies providing 3 million jobs. A buoyant construction sector is not only good for construction equipment suppliers, but creates jobs at a rate unmatched by any other activity. The report estimates that every £1 invested in construction generates £2.84 in GDP increase. Historically, Government investment has created 30-40 per cent of construction demand in terms of infrastructure, education, housing and health care spending. The concern is that Government may reign back spending in these areas, which not only provide the best social benefit, but also the best economic return. CEA Chief Executive, Rob Oliver, comments; “If anything, the UKCG report under estimates the economic impact of construction. There is an underlying concern that the promised escalation of infrastructure investment hasn't happened – and won't happen if the predicted cuts in Government spending occur”. For more details on the report see
www.ukcg.org.uk. |
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Rebalancing the Economy – Promoting Manufacturing
There is now a rising national debate on the future structure of the UK economy. The fall of the financial sector and the question marks over the sustainability of the service sector – has now prompted thoughts that manufacturing may not be such a bad thing. Certainly for UK construction equipment there is a lot to be said for an enterprise that exports 70+ per cent of its production – and before the financial crisis had shown a growth rate outstripping the national average by several percentage points. In the run up to a General Election it is encouraging to see the manufacturing and construction lobbies promoting the cause for the "real economy". The CEA is supporting these moves as well as ensuring that our sector specific concerns remain on the Government agenda. Our latest initiative is to identify from our members the “just one thing”, you would like from the next Government to help your business. Let us have your thoughts via
rob@admin.co.uk. |
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Chinese Economy Keeps Growth Profile
Reports from the recent BICES trade show in Beijing confirm the continued growth of the Chinese economy against world trends. The show boasted record numbers of attendees and underlined the continuing progress of indigenous technology. Major Chinese manufacturers are now targeting overseas markets. The CEA's post show technology seminars also attracted an excellent turnout from local enterprises. The next CEA overseas project is at the Excon exhibition in
Bangalore, India (25-29 November 2009). |
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