Having supported its members for a century, the Foundry Equipment and Supplies Association (FESA) celebrated its one hundredth anniversary in May at a dinner held in the convivial surroundings of the Breadsall Priory Country Club in Derbyshire (UK).
The event celebrated the FESA legacy, which has seen the association offer support to its membership – UK based foundry equipment and consumables suppliers – to help grow their business with particular emphasis on development of overseas trade. However, in recent years, with governmental changes and poor industrial support offerings, FESA has found it increasingly difficult to access grant support for members to attend international events and exhibitions – the predominant manner in which they would showcase their capabilities to global audiences. In light of this changing world and following ongoing debate, the decision was therefore made to cease operating in this one hundredth year in favour of encouraging members to instead support the suppliers division of the Cast Metals Federation (CMF), which has been developed to offer a range of services to supply companies in the UK. The dinner was thus organised by FESA to mark the closing of one door and the opening of a new era for foundry supplier support in the UK.
Speaking to members at the dinner, FESA secretary Eur Ing Andrew Turner CEng FICME said: “It is a bittersweet moment, but I really do feel that the time is right to move the trade support into a new chapter and I hope members can give CMF the same level of support as given to FESA.”
He thanked member companies and the individuals involved for their longstanding support over many decades and he highlighted some of the key initiatives, including the organisation of the British Pavilion at numerous events around the world, including GIFA (Germany), ANKIROS (Turkey), the Indian Foundry Conference, FundiExpo (Mexico) and ABIFA show (Brazil).
Current FESA president Stuart Gibson Prof MICME, of Gibson Centritech Ltd, echoed Turner’s sentiment, saying: “It has been a great honour to serve as FESA president and I thank those past presidents here tonight for their guidance and counsel. Rather than be saddened, this should be seen as FESA making a decision based on the most appropriate route to support our foundry supply sector. It is important to recognise when the time is right to pass on the baton. The FESA council thanks all members for their support over the years and Andrew Turner for his considerable efforts to support member companies on the global stage.”
Turner concluded: “This is another challenging time for our sector, but I am confident that our innovative and capable industry can continue to grow its global customer base in the knowledge that their trade association has placed their best interests at heart. Collective working is a vital part of an industry’s success story and this is just another chapter.”
Present at the event were FESA member companies, FESA council members and past presidents and former secretary Mary White. They dined and mingled in beautiful surroundings, enjoying the hospitality and company of FESA one last time.