German commitment to international cooperation
10/02/2021
This article was written by Thomas Springer (Chairman of FBS) for IACDS Yearbook 2020.
Founded in 1984, the Fachverband Betonbohren und -sägen Deutschland e. V. (German Concrete Drilling and Sawing Association) is the world’s leading employers’ association in this industry with more than 750 members today. Its members are service companies and manufacturers in the field of concrete drilling and sawing.
German initiative
The European and global development of the industry increasingly presented the association with new challenges to speak with one voice, internationally as well. Thus, the then chairman of the German professional association, Otto Alte-Teigeler, initiated the foundation of the IACDS (International Association of Concrete Drillers & Sawers) in 1994. The objective was and still is to support the cooperation with globally operating companies and trade associations all over the world in order to promote information exchange within the industry as well as new technologies for drilling and sawing concrete.
International appeal
One example is the initiation of a competition to award prizes for outstanding achievements in the concrete drilling and sawing industry, starting at the BeBoSa (trade fair for concrete drilling and sawing) in 2000. It was the birth of the Diamond Award, which today, under the responsibility of the IACDS, honors complex and innovative, controlled demolition projects from all over the world. The awards ceremony for the competition, which is announced every three years, is currently held at the Bauma (International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines, Construction Vehicles and Construction Equipment). A further milestone of international cooperation is the BeBoSa trade fair which was established in 2011. Due to the Corona pandemic, the event, which takes place in the year after the bauma, has been postponed to the coming year and will take place from 15 to 17 April 2021.
Committed to the future
Since 2019, the German trade association again provided the president of the IACDS, Michael Findeis. The aim of the new personnel commitment is to improve the transfer of knowledge among the regional associations for the benefit of all members, to intensify support among each other, as well as to increase political influence on developments relevant to the industry. Specifically, this involves, for example, the establishment of a European Directive based on the Austrian ÖNORM as an important contribution to the standardization of tendering procedures and the comparability of offers. In addition, the network is to be used to establish the PQ6 tool-less drill bit connection, developed by the professional association, internationally.
