Rob van Hoesel urges the wooden pallet and packaging industry to set aside personal ambitions, pool resources, and present a single, unified voice
The outgoing head of the European Federation of Wooden Pallet and Packaging Manufacturers (Fefpeb) has called for all representatives of the European and international wooden pallet and packaging industry to work together rather than separately to ensure European lobbying messages are consistent and achieve the best possible results for the sector.
“Fefpeb is a federation of country members, individual companies, pallet pools and association members, representing the European pallet industry, lightweight packaging and industrial packaging,” said Rob van Hoesel, addressing his last Fefpeb congress after 13 years as president.
“We always strive for a common approach and succeeded in establishing a recognised position as the representative federation for our whole industry,” he outlined. “That is a continuous process.”
Duplicating lobbying efforts at the expense of clarity of messaging and representation “is potentially the worse-case scenario for our industry”, van Hoesel said, adding that having different organisations with similar aims in Brussels was “a waste of time and labour” that risks communicating “two different messages, which would be damaging for our industry.”
He concluded by calling for unity and a coordinated pooling of resources.
“We have a beautiful, sustainable product that is worth fighting for,” noted van Hoesel. “I call on everyone here to set aside your personal ambitions and keep our industry united.”
Held over three days in the town of Båstad, Sweden, Fefpeb’s 73rd congress was themed ’The wood packaging industry in a resilient Europe’, and welcomed approximately 200 delegates from the European and international wood pallet and packaging sector.
“This is the 73rd time that delegates have met for a Fefpeb congress and thanks to our collaboration with Swedish Wood it was one of the best attended, informative, and enjoyable programmes we have run,” commented Fefpeb secretary general Fons Ceelaert.
“The challenges our industry is facing are becoming more complex and international in nature, and together we achieve far more by working together, speaking with one clear voice and making the best possible use of our collective expertise and resources.
”Since it was founded in 1946, Fefpeb’s mission has been to bring our sector together, share ideas, and represent our common interests consistently wherever decisions affecting our future are being made,” he added.
