On 29.09.2021 BIPAVER General Assembly took place. Due to the continuing travel and contact restrictions, this year’s meeting regrettably had to be held digitally as in the previous year. A total of 29 representatives from national retreading associations, individual retreading companies and suppliers took part in the virtual general meeting.
In addition to the usual association formalities, such as passing resolutions on the 2020 annual financial statements or determining the 2022 budget, the formal step of founding BIPAVER as a European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) had to be repeated from the previous year, as not all the strict requirements of the competent registration court were met in the “first attempt”.
The technical experts Christoph Priewasser (Kraiburg) and Michael Schwämmlein (BRV) gave an overview of the most important regulatory changes in the field of retreading. In addition to the proposed amendments to UN-ECE Regulations 108, 109 and 117, the focus was on the Sustainable Product Initiative (SPI) and the Fit For 55 program. A major disappointment was the SPI, whose goal of making products placed on the EU market more sustainable was not extended to the product ‘tire’.
After more than two years of abstinence as far as presence meetings are concerned, the hope remains that the retreading industry will meet live next year at Autopromotec in Bologna and/or THE TIRE COLOGNE in Cologne.
