Looking forward
EFCEM's Secretary General Iain Munro looks ahead to what 2025 will hold in store for EFCEM members
As Martin Ubl, President of EFCEM, addresses in his own column , 2024 has been a challenging year for equipment manufacturers across Europe. But there have also been many extraordinary successes from our members – and some important initiatives and progress from the Federation.
The good work never stops though and the year ahead will see us focusing on several key areas of legislation via EFCEM's Working Groups (WG) and hosting and participating in important industry events to ensure we are focusing on what matters most: meaningful outcomes for our members .
So, what does the future hold? Looking ahead, I see 2025 as being a year ripe with opportunity for our members, and certainly EFCEM will remain at the forefront as it seeks to represent members' interests across the continent. The role of EFCEM is to connect the dots across the whole supply chain of European foodservice equipment manufacturing, ensuring its route to market is secure, sustainable, and ultimately unencumbered.
EFCEM gives its members a pivotal voice – and an influence – at the highest level of European policymaking. EFCEM matters because, without us, independently of the Federation our members would not have this access to Brussels and direct input into the formation and updating of key legislation in this sector. Collectively, we can articulate our common goals and ensure that actionable results, with real purpose, are achieved for our members.
Overcoming challenges
Events are important for ensuring that. Our 2025 General Assembly will be held in London, UK, and hosted by FEA at its offices on 17-18 June 2025. We hope to see 1-3 representatives from each member country at the event, an agenda for which will be shared closer to the time. I can tell you though that it will include presentations from the EFCEM team and other guest speakers focusing on the challenges we all face – and how we can overcome them, together – plus some highlights from across the regions, as well as showing the progress of the WGs.
In the next few weeks, we will be publishing the 2025 meeting dates for the WGs and Members Committee (MC). The aim will be to hold a minimum of two WG and MC meetings in 2025, one in each half of the year, plus update meetings from these groups at the GA in London and HostMilano meeting. 2025 is, of course, the year of HostMilano (17–21 October), where the catering equipment manufacturing community comes together globally. We are planning a member meeting in Milan on Thursday 16 October the day before the show opens, as well as exploring the possibility of holding a global convention/gathering during the show itself. More news to follow on that front.
Otherwise, there are several areas of regulation and legislation that will be the key focus for EFCEM and its technical committees going forward. In 2023 and 2024 F-Gas was the one major regulatory change that really impacted EFCEM members. The collaboration between members has demonstrated how EFCEM can help bring the manufacturing community together. In 2023-2024 the Environment Working Group (WG2) formed a F-Gas Task Force that helped to co-ordinate the request to the EU Commission for an extension to the enforcement date for certain refrigeration products (ice makers, ice cream makers, blast chillers and food regeneration trolleys). Due to them agreeing a common position the group assisted some members in engaging with their own State Departments (Industry or Environment), making the request on their behalf to the EU Commission. We still await the official approval of this request, but it looks as if their efforts have been successful in gaining an extension to the January 2025 enforcement date. This allows the R&D of these products to meet the new regulations, which needs time to source new components and train technicians in the field.
2025 will see a focus on Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) , which aims to enhance the environmental performance of products across the EU, including catering and refrigeration equipment. It introduces requirements for durability, reparability, recyclability, and energy efficiency, ensuring that products are designed with sustainability in mind. There are key impacts on manufacturers, including Digital Product Passports and design requirements that mean manufacturers must integrate sustainability principles into the design process, focusing on resource efficiency and extending product life cycles. We will keep members updated on progress.
We'll also report on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) . Introduced by the EU, this is a policy designed to prevent carbon leakage and support the EU's climate goals. It imposes a carbon price on imports of certain goods from non-EU countries that do not meet the EU's strict emissions standards. This means there will be impacts on catering and refrigeration manufacturers, including increased costs for imported components and materials and the need for supply chain adjustments, among other changes, that we will keep you posted on.
Long term strategy
Otherwise, EFCEM will continue working hard in 2025 to get even closer to its members and listen to their pain points. This helps us form a longer-term strategy in meeting members' needs. The launch of this regular newsletter – which will see technical updates shared from the WGs but also wider topics and insights from a global platform – is testament to this, as is the rollout of our member survey. Many thanks in advance for filling that in. Your feedback is vital to us, and we hope to report the findings in January 2025.
In late 2024 we established the National Associations of Producers (NAP) Members Committee with a clear aim to understand members' key challenges and help to provide guidance to the Management Board on the future strategy of EFCEM. The Committee, whose Chair is Marco Learnato of EFCEM Italia, will meet more frequently to discuss the WGs activity and challenges, plus, discuss cross-border and regional issues. We will also establish a WG/Task Force whose goal is to get a better understanding of the overall sales volumes of catering and refrigeration equipment in Europe.
As secretary general of EFCEM, as well as recruiting new NAP members and Associate Members, my role is to increase awareness of EFCEM and hopefully demonstrate the added value being a member of EFCEM brings. I was able to do that when I presented at the FEA AGM in November, for example, giving FEA members an insight to who the EFCEM members are and its management board, WG activity, and demonstrating how they can access the WGs too. We want to improve our communication with members, and that includes the future development of the website, ensuring it becomes an essential hub for EFCEM's documentation and information.
EFCEM is so well-placed to gauge the temperature of the industry and its future. We currently have nine member countries, and many of these represent the leading equipment manufacturers within the industry, not just in Europe but globally. EFCEM is also part of Orgalim, which represents the EU's largest manufacturing sector. EFCEM's partnership with Orgalim means even further influence in Brussels, as well as networking opportunities with a wide spectrum across the technology industries, plus tailored support on specific issues.
EFCEM, through its partnership with Orgalim and the contributions of its several WGs, stands as the only trade association offering the catering equipment sector impartial guidance and valuable insights into the industry's future and evolving demands. Together we are powerful. So, let's look towards 2025 with positivity and strive for a better, stronger future for this wonderful industry.
Here's to a Happy New Year.
Iain Munro