President’s Foreword A very warm welcome to the 2024 edition of the BFPA Yearbook & Members’ Directory. Time seems to have flown by since I was first appointed to the role of President back in May last year during the Association’s AGM. A lot of the work we are currently focused on started under the very capable management of previous BFPA President John Farmer with Paul Cooke as the Interim Leader during 2022 before the appointment of Chris Butcher as Managing Director later that year. During this period, I served as Vice President, working with the rest of the team to establish strategy teams to lead our Four Pillars covering education, training, health and safety, standards, and industry and statistics. I continue to be a great advocate for the work that those hard-working and committed people do on these all-important topics. Leading up to my appointment as President, the BFPA began to take discussions about sustainability to a whole new level for our industry, and this continues to be a key focus for us, with what I believed to be some fine work being done to help to further energise the membership in all things related to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. Indeed, the BFPA’s team and the Association in general is now as efficient and cohesive as I’ve ever known it to be. It has become very forward-looking and is now even more dedicated to moving with the times; for example, in terms of digitalising some of our core service offerings and making them available online. More than ever, we are now focusing heavily on education and training because of the serious skills shortage that is affecting companies not just within the fluid power industry but also within engineering and manufacturing in the wider sense throughout the UK. Well-established service offerings to members, such as market statistics and general support at the end of the phone whenever required, remain firmly in place, of course. Added to this, Chris Butcher has now introduced regular regional meetings, which are proving to be very popular, are well attended and generate healthy and valuable discussion about how to get the best out of Association membership. However, what I have appreciated most as President at this stage is the level of increased membership engagement that is taking place. There has been much greater open discussion amongst members and the Association and a lot more collaboration with the aim of generating ideas and actions for our mutual benefit. Generally, we have seen more people attending meetings at events such as the BFPA AGM and the Economic Forecast at the Manufacturing Technology Centre, and working together as an industry, putting aside their individual company affiliations for a moment. The BFPA’s Statistics and Market Manager, Sarah Gardner, should be singled out for particular praise in facilitating these types of events. Also, Chris Butcher has worked very hard on engagement himself, visiting the membership at their premises and listening more closely to what people really want from the Association. Martin Kingsbury, Membership and Training Director, continues to serve the membership through direct face-to-face discussions while also taking BFPA training courses to new heights, both in terms of boosting the number of trainees and further refinement of the course content. Karen GordonBrander, Administrative and Training Coordinator, remains a safe pair of hands, keeping everything at the Association running smoothly and efficiently. There is now a palpable feeling that people want more than ever to be more involved in BFPA events and other initiatives. There is a greater buzz of excitement and enthusiasm that has reached a whole new level over the past year or so. Before signing off, I would like to express my gratitude to Chris Butcher who since taking up the role of Managing Director little under a year and a half ago has shown himself to be genuinely passionate about the industry and about providing the best possible service to the membership through direct engagement. I would also like to say a big thank you to Nicky Quinn, who joined the BFPA as Standards and Projects Manager in mid-2023. She has settled in superbly and liaises with the Technical Committees, the BSI and the Strategy Teams very efficiently, offering many valuable ideas of her own in the process. Personally, I am looking forward to building on the momentum we have established, working out new ways to promote the industry to the next generation and continuing to develop all the main industry themes we are currently involved in – everything from training, statistics and standards to safety and sustainability. Furthermore, the whole BFPA team and I are very much looking forward to celebrating the Association’s 65th Anniversary during 2024. We hope all our members will join us to celebrate. Time for celebration www.bfpa.co.uk 3 Rebecca Galley, President.
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