Germany’s mechanical industry association VDMA has dropped its full name, opened offices in other European countries and launched a dedicated platform to represent marine technology companies in political discussions.
Its Advanced Maritime Technology (AMT) is a platform within the association that will represent European technology firms in Brussels when the European Union discusses maritime regulations.
The German-based association now has offices in Italy and Poland.
Daniel Erdmann has been appointed managing director of AMT, while ABB Marine & Ports’ head of regulatory & public affairs, Eero Lehtovaara, will be its first chair.
Daniel Chatterjee, director of sustainability, technology management & regulatory affairs at Rolls-Royce in Germany, will be vice chair.
The new platform will represent Europe’s marine technology firms on cleantech and digital issues, Erdmann told TradeWinds.
He compared AMT’s role in Europe with that of CIMAC, the global engine maker and technology association that recently secured consultative status at the International Maritime Organisation.
CIMAC’s secretariat is also run out of VDMA. Members of AMT will be members of CIMAC.
Lehtovaara is also vice chair of CIMAC.
VDMA and AMT are not the same as the European Waterborne platform, said Erdmann, as this is more of for research rather than a lobby platform aimed at giving technology a stronger voice in Brussels.
VDMA, originally known as Verband Deutscher Maschinen und Anlagenbau, will no longer refer to its German name as it seeks to take a broader European position with its industrial lobbying, instead using only its acronym.
It should not be mixed up with VSM, the German shipbuilders association Verband fur Schiffbau und Meerestechnik, which is a member of SEA Europe, another pan-European maritime industry association representing national shipbuilding and technology associations and engineering firms.
