November board meeting highlights

On 27 November, we held our Board of Directors meeting via videoconference, chaired by our President, Hans Borgt (DOW). The session allowed us to review the current situation of the association, assess the progress of our strategic projects and continue shaping our activity plan for 2026.

We reviewed the status of our membership, noting the recent incorporation of Hammelmann and ongoing developments within DIRV under VDMA, for which we expect further updates in the coming weeks. We also shared the news that Lindsay Noteboom will assume the role of director of SIR starting in January.

During the meeting, we discussed the progress made by our working groups. Work continues on the Industry Report 2026, the Yearbook 2025 and the technical guides currently under development. This includes the Guide on Roles, prepared in collaboration with several national associations, as well as the guide on vacuum systems, which we aim to present at IFAT 2026.

A central topic of the meeting was the preparation of our Annual Meeting 2026, which will take place in Brussels on 11–12 February. The first day will be dedicated exclusively to our members, while the second day will be open to the entire sector, featuring several round-table discussions on industrial cleaning, urban sanitation and infrastructure. We also opened the call for candidates interested in hosting the 2027 edition of the event.

We also confirmed EWJI’s participation in IFAT 2026 in Munich and set the meeting calendar for next year, with online Board meetings scheduled for March, June and October, in addition to the General Assembly in February.