Portrait
About EMU:
The European Metal Union – EMU - represents the interests of craft and small and medium-sized enterprises in the metal industry. The organisation provides a forum for discussion on standardisation, social dialogue, vocational training and education, together with the promotion and exchange of best practices on of the craft, branch-related challenges and micro and macro-economic developments.
Sectors represented are manifold: mechanical engineering, vehicle assembly, shipbuilding, plant and transport engineering, metallic constructions, metallic joinery, lock and safety engineering, metal design, metal craft, welding, punching, drilling, foundry and many more…
As per vote in GA on 22nd September 2023, the EMU Board Members are:
- Fleming Frederiksen, President
- Mark Helder and Willi Seiger, Vice-Presidents
- Johan Van Bosch, Treasurer
Jos Kleiboer will Chair the EMU Green Manufacturing Working Group.
Member of SMEUnited and SBS (Small Business Standards)
EMU is member of SME United (www.smeunited.eu ), the European Association of Craft and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. By being a member of this organization, EMU can represent the interests of the member’s associations of artisans and of SMEs of the metalworking branch on a European level. Moreover, it can influence the European legislation.
EMU is also a member of Small Business Standards (www.sbs-sme.eu), which represents and defend small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) interests in the standardization process at European and international levels. Through SBS, EMU experts participate to CEN Technical Committees and become directly involved in setting and monitoring standardization developments at EU level.
Working group and governance bodies:
Regulatory and policy development at EU level are followed by three different EMU working groups:
- The EMU working group on standardisation and technique which focuses on EMU work on standardisation among CEN Technical Committees and beyond;
- The EMU working group on social dialogue, which analyses which topics, of importance to EMU companies, can be discussed on a European level with the social partners: age-based management of the employees and workers, presentation of comparative information on wages, working time and collective bargaining…
- The EMU working group on vocational training and education, which promotes metalworking occupations in order to attract young people and apprentices into the metal sector and to keep existing workforce. In particular, the working group developed EU-wide qualification tools such as the ESCO (previously Q4Europe: the European Classification of the Skills, Competences and Occupations), EQF (harmonization of descriptions of the 8 education levels) and the EMU Pass.
- The EMU Green Manufacturing working group which focuses on issues related to manufacturing processes that contribute to the European Green Deal objectives
Together with the Presidency meetings, the Administrative Council and the yearly General Assembly, these working groups compose the decision-making bodies of EMU.
A brief history EMU:
The International Union of Blacksmithing and Forging (Union Internationale des forgerons-constructeurs) was created on 23 August 1954 in Zurich (Switzerland). The statutes were approved on 22 Sep 1955 in Luxembourg, and was further modified on 23 Sep 1959 in Vienna (Austria). The organisation became the International Metal Union (IMU) -- Union internationale du métal -- Internationale Metall-Union (IMU) in 1972. The present name was adopted 1993.
For further information on EMU current members and application for membership, please consult the EMU website (www.emu-sme.eu) or contact EMU secretariat:
European Metal Union
Boulvard Anspach 111 B13
BE - 1000 Brussels
Tel : +32.(0)2.274.22.07
e-mail: office@emu-sme.eu
EU Transparency Register: 57596413786-53