CECIMO ELECTS HANS-MARTIN SCHNEEBERGER AS THE NEW PRESIDENT

During its meeting held on 5 December 2019 in Brussels, the CECIMO General Assembly elected Dr Hans-Martin Schneeberger as President of CECIMO for a period of two years. Dr Schneeberger has been serving as Chairman of the board of directors of Schneeberger Holding AG since 2003. He was also a member of the board of Swissmem and for many years a delegate to CECIMO, the European Machine Tool Builders Association in Brussels.

Dr Hans-Martin Schneeberger has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the European Association that represents more than a third of the world machine tool (MT) production. His term will focus on the setting of global standards and the uptake of Artificial Intelligence.

In a highly competitive and uncertain global market, CECIMO and its members have to convey, to both the national and European institutions, the clear message that industry is vital for the future development of Europe. “The machine tool sector” he said “can contribute to the health of the European industry by shaping the next EU regulatory initiatives and policies”. Given that the world is evolving around three dimensions of sustainability (sustainability of economy, environment and society), CECIMO can play a crucial role in today’s challenges like circular economy and digitalization, as the association can help defining standards on new technologies. “Europe must lead the race on global standards at the international level, so that our regulations set the example for others to come”.

The new President made clear that the European Institutions should value the role of industries like ours in drafting pivotal dossiers. On Artificial Intelligence, the EU representatives should broaden their view and value different perspectives, not only the one of big tech companies. “In many cases, these companies are suppliers to our Industry, while we are the customers and therefore users. So why should the European Commission discuss relevant issues exclusively with the suppliers if they can have a well-founded discussion with the users?”

The priorities of Dr Schneeberger are in line with the project of the next European Commission. Among others, Europe wants to set the right environment for digital networks and services to thrive and strengthen itself as responsible global leader. CECIMO will follow closely all the dossiers on the table, such as cybersecurity, trade agreements and Intellectual Property Rights.