BFPA Directory 2019

The Ex-President memoirs Time and tide wait for no man, as the saying goes. Nevertheless, it’s still something of a surprise to reflect that it has been 30 years since I had the honour of serving as BFPA President. I officially retired from Parker 17 years ago but shortly after I took on the role of BFPA Director. As someone who will reach the ripe age of 77 this year, reflecting on my time with the Association is a very pleasant trip down memory lane. It was a fantastic time and we achieved so much during that period of transition. I remember that during my time as Vice President, the year before I became President, we moved to Chipping Norton from Vauxhall Bridge in London. The decision to move was made largely in the realisation that the Association needed to reduce its costs substantially, as well as enjoy more space to expand. It was also the locale of the then BFPA Director Neil Percival and more central for most people who often had to travel from the North or Midlands. As is still the case today, all the people who served on the committee had full-time jobs, so time was precious and if they could save travelling time getting to our offices for meetings this was understandably a welcomed move. Indeed, at the most recent annual Past Presidents Lunch many of us reflected that the move was very successful because going into London was a chore for many of the members attending all of the various meetings. In hindsight, some might say we should have chosen a location closer to a motorway, but all things considered I think things have worked out fine. During this period, an event that continued to be of considerable value to the industry as well as a useful asset from the point of view of bolstering the Association’s coffers was our own exhibition, IFPEX, which was held every two years at the NEC in Birmingham. This event has since been replaced by similar events, such as DFA Media’s Fluid Power & Systems exhibition, but at the time it served a very useful purpose within the fluid power industry. I think the value of Association membership was genuinely being enhanced around this time in the late ’80s and early ’90s due to some fairly substantial improvements. For example, one of the things we introduced was the Hose Assembly Training and Accreditation Scheme. It was a genuine delight to see just how much interest that initiative began to generate among our distributor members. We had our own dedicated trainer for the scheme based in Chipping Norton who would travel to distributors’ sites in order to train their staff and help to get the companies accredited. This meant quite a lot to the distributors because we were giving them something that they could put on their headed paper to show they were approved an accredited. We also began to offer additional benefits to both our distributor and manufacturer membership; things such as free legal advice and insurance initiatives etc. These types of initiatives have of course continued to develop to this day. At the time I served as President, it’s sobering to remember just how basic some of the communications technology was. Mobile phones were only just becoming more widely used and at the time they were so heavy and bulky. Fax machines were one of the latest communication fads and of course there was no Internet in those days – how the world has changed. Indeed, thinking about it, in my role at Parker I used to run entire factories without a computer, relying instead on Kardex filing systems etc. In terms of technological changes within our industry, this has also really been quite dramatic over the past few years. I believe the whole area of digital transformation will secure a firm grip at all levels within our industry over the next few years. My involvement at CETOP around this time proved very beneficial from the point of view of the BFPA having a chance to champion the interests of the UK fluid power industry. It was a way of being able to influence the future of the products that you were making and was a great opportunity to influence technical standards. Similar to the BFPA’s own technical committees, it was also important for people in our industry to have an opportunity to meet with their competitors and counterparts in Europe and to be able to work on areas of common interest. During my time as President, the Association’s Annual Dinner & Ball was held at the Dorchester in London and was considered to be a must-attend attraction for many members and customers within our industry. It proved to be highly worthwhile not only from the point of view of the excellent food and entertainment but also in terms of the ideal networking opportunities it offered. However, in my view the stalwart features of the Association continue to be its excellent training courses, unique market statistics and its continuing strong involvement and influence regarding industry standards. Fluid power continues to play a critical role within today’s industrial world and I truly believe that the Association’s future is secured. Broadening the services portfolio www.bfpa.co.uk 45 By Michael Meacham.