Orgalime

Orgalime^[1] (derived originally from Organisme de Liaison des Industries Métalliques Européennes) is the European Engineering Industries Association, speaking for 41 trade federations representing companies in the mechanical, electrical, electronics and metalworking and metal articles industries of 24 European countries. The industry employs about 10.9 million people in Europe and not only represents some 28% of the output of manufactured products but also a third of the manufactured exports of the European Union.

Overview

Orgalime is the prime voice of the EU engineering industry on selected issues that affect a broad range of its members. The aim is to excel in the:

• Provision of information to members concerning the activities of the European Union and international bodies of direct relevance, that impact the operations of engineering companies operating in the EU.
• Provision of information and opinions to the European institutions on policy and regulatory issues.
• Provision of a network for members to facilitate information exchange and together develop services which are useful to their member companies.
• Provision of a wide range of customised services to different sectors of industry, notably for the monitoring, analysis and dissemination of relevant information published by regulators and for the organisation of congresses and events.
• Production of publications to provide the European engineering companies with model general conditions and documents to help draw up business contracts and give practical advice on frequently occurring legal questions, including in the context of European directives and regulations.

Whilst a significant part of the output of the engineering industries are either capital goods or destined for B-2-B transactions, there is also a large consumer goods output, particularly in the electrical and electronic branch.

The vision is to actively promote the development in Europe of the necessary competitive framework conditions under which companies can flourish, provide growth and employment both today and in the long term as manufacturers in the EU, and to ensure that the trading conditions they face are fair, both in the EU and on export markets.

A Secretariat currently numbering 28 deals with the numerous policy issues.

Companies are overwhelmingly small and medium-sized enterprises and cover a broad industry cross-section in terms of product, market segment and geographical spread.

Whilst a significant part of the output of the engineering industries is either capital goods or destined for B-2-B transactions, there is also a large consumer goods output, particularly in the electrical and electronic branch.

From November 2015, Mr Tomas Hedenborg, CEO of the Company - Fastems in Finland, became the President of Orgalime, replacing Mr Sandro Bonomi of Bonomi Enolgas.

Clients include –

• suppliers: the energy and primary transformation industries;
• transport industry: the automotive, aeronautics, and rail equipment producers;
• all processing industries: the agroindustry and food industry in general, the chemical, petrochemical, and plastics industries; and
• consumers in the form of ICT products and household appliances.

Orgalime is part of an extensive network at European level which includes the Confederation of European Business (BUSINESSEUROPE), other branch federations, a sister organisation CEEMET representing the employers in the engineering industry, as well as a number of individual European sector committees/associations representing the interests of individual engineering products or product lines:

• BUSINESSEUROPE
• Major industrial branch federations (Fédérations européennes des branches industrielles - FEBIs)
• Council of European Employers of the Metal, Engineering and Technology-based Industries (CEEMET)
• 120 European product sector committees/associations in the engineering industry

The engineering industries are also suppliers of equipment and technology for the health, social and leisure sectors and for the area of the environment including water, wastewater and air treatment equipment essential to the creation and maintenance of a safe environment.

On the 22 January 2014, the European Commission issued its contribution to the 2014 European Council debate on industrial policy - ‘For a European Industrial Renaissance’. This is the latest follow-up to the European Commission's industrial policy flagship of 2010, which laid out a strategy for sustainable growth, competitiveness and job creation in the context of Europe 2020. The 2012 review of the industrial policy communication was adopted by the Commission in October 2012.

Frequent policy changes, the tendency at a national level to gold plate EU legislation and at EU level to review legislation often on a 5-year basis (generally leading to a revision) means that in the EU, there is a highly complex and unpredictable body of regulation which has become too unwieldy for companies and, in particular, SMEs (which account for over 90% of the companies represented by Orgalime) with their limited resources and their focus on their core business to manage, in particular when the investment horizon and also often the product life cycle for manufacturers in the capital goods industry is 10 years or more. The revision of existing legislation after short periods of time and the adoption of additional and sometimes even incoherent legislation is an avoidable burden for SMEs which undermines their global competitiveness, an example of which was the recent review of the RoHS directive.

Activities

Orgalime publishes information on regulations and legislation in the EU. It organises conferences and provides information for its members.

In 2008 the Electra report was launched. Its aim was to determine what conditions need to be met to ensure that the EU electrical engineering and electronics industry, one of Europe's leading manufacturing and export sectors with an output of some 320 billion euro and employing some 2.8 million people in 2006, should continue to grow, and at an even higher rate. The Electra report was cited in the conclusions of the Competitiveness Council in 2009, and the European Commission issued a Communication 'Electra'. On 24 April 2012, at the Hannover Messe, the European Commission was presented with 'The Smart World,' a follow-up to the original Electra report of June 2008.

The electrical engineering and electronics industry represented through Electra aims to:

• Briefly analyse the results of the first Electra report, looking at areas where progress has been achieved and those where more needs to be done
• Outline the changes that have arisen following the 2008-2009 economic crash
• Re-examine the challenges at societal level that Europe faces today.

In July 2011, Orgalime issued a guide to the RoHS recast Directive. The legislation, which restricts the use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, such as TVs, laptops, washing machines, fridges and lighting equipment has now been extended to progressively phase in medical devices, monitoring and control equipment and other electrical and electronic equipment into the scope. To aid the industry, Orgalime has compiled a guide to the RoHS recast – available for download on its publications website. Indeed, many other publications are available (guides on WEEE, RoHS 1, REACH and Pressure Equipment) to help industry through the complex web of European legislation.

As part of its service, Orgalime publishes a range of standard conditions of contract for:

• the supply of mechanical, electrical and electronic products (S2012), released in its new format in March 2012;
• the supply and erection of mechanical, electrical and electronic products (SE01); and
• turnkey projects / EPC.

In April 2015, Orgalime issued the Model form of Consortium agreement. The model form is intended for use when two or more companies agree to co-operate on a specific project. The consortium tenders for and, if the tender is successful, performs the contract with the customer. The contract is usually for supply and erection of a fairly large industrial installation. The consortium is dissolved once the project has been completed. Among the important items are the project manager's authority, and members' liability toward the customer, each other and third parties.

The model is written for what is generally referred to as an open consortium, i.e. the consortium acts as such towards the customer, but the model may also be of some help in negotiating a contract for a "silent" consortium.

The model is sold in a package with the printed document and a version on CD-ROM. It also publishes contract supplements for computer software, specially designed components (design-build), series processing, supervision of erection, repair, maintenance and provision of technical personnel abroad.

The turn-key standard-contract is intended for industrial works. Unlike Anglo-Saxon contracts (e.g. FIDIC standard-contract), it follows a strict "two-parties" approach, without the concept of an engineer as a third party. It is intended as a balanced contract between contractor and purchaser.

References