What’s new at the European Federation of Welding, Cutting and Joining

LISBON, Portugal - Oct. 8, 2014 - PRLog -- As Europe has chosen industrialization as a key component of its long-term growth strategy within Horizon 2020, competitiveness is key to ensure that industries thrive and jobs are created. To achieve that goal, the enabling technologies and services have also been challenged to respond to the needs of an industry that is both evolving as well as increasingly complex and sophisticated. At the EWF, we are acutely aware of these changes and have been pre-empting them by actively embracing a partnership strategy to address the challenge of innovation, including the needs for traning and qualification, that is a critical component of the leading-edge support that European industries need in order to achieve this ambitious goal. This is the way EWF has approached these challenges since its inception, working  side-by-side with the industry thought leaders that are working to define Europe’s industrial future.

The manufacturing challenge in Europe

Manufacturing is the dominant sector of the European economy, since each job in manufacturing is linked to two additional jobs in high quality services. Within this context, putting knowledge and innovation at the heart of European growth is a strategic goal. The mission of the European Technology Platform Manufuture is to propose, develop and implement a strategy based on Research and Innovation, capable of speeding up the rate of industrial transformation to high added-value products, processes and services, securing high-skills employment and ensuring a brighter future in the knowledge-driven global economy. As part of the Manufuture platform, ‘Factories of the Future’ was launched as a European Union contractual public-private partnership, with the overall aim to enable a more sustainable and competitive European industry at the centre of Europe’s economy. The research priorities of the partnership were defined by the European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA), an industry-driven association promoting the development of new and innovative production technologies, in which EWF is a member. Adding to this the, recent created, Joining Sub-Platform to Manufuture has also increased the visibility and highlighted the importance of Joining technologies in the European Union manufacturing industry.

EWF’s contribution

Beyond participation on EFFRA – European Factories of the Future Research Association, EWF is also working closely with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (www.cedefop.europa.eu), as well as with the European Committee for Standardization (https://www.cen.eu/Pages/default.aspx, to ensure that welding and joining professionals are appropriately qualified for the upcoming technical challenges facing the industry.  And, as part of its role and commitment to the reindustrialization of Europe, EWF supports the Manufacturing a Stronger and Greener Europe Manifesto, which embodies a commitment by the European Manufacturing industry to play vital role in Europe’s economic recovery.

Also within the Manufuture Technology Platform, Joining has been singled out as a key enabling technology and, therefore, a specific sub-platform was created, with the purpose of developing a strategic approach in the field, a core element of innovative and sustainable manufacturing (http://www.joining-platform.com/).  And EWF played an important role in creating this subplatform and being part of the Management Committee, globally touching all relevant areas within the industry.

Lastly, EWF has recently established a partnership with the European Federation for Non-Destructive Testing to jointly advance subjects of common interest. For that purpose, both boards have agreed to deliver joint positions on matters of policy and consultation including, among other, Collaborative European Projects.

About the European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting

EWF is a pioneer in implementing a harmonized qualification and certification system for joining professionals. Through European projects EWF has been innovating in welding training methodologies, and involved in the development of new technologies and uses for welding and joining.