VdL Annual General Meeting: New Presidium for paints and varnishes

Over 150 participants from around 60 VdL member companies and their guests attended the Annual General Meeting of the Association of the German Paint and Printing Ink Industry (VdL) in Mainz. The most important topics were the difficult economic situation and the European Green Deal. Hardly any city has a color in its official title, so "golden Mainz" was particularly suitable for the traditional annual meeting of the German paint industry on 14/15 May 2024. A comprehensive program awaited the participants from the more than 200 member companies on the Rhine: It started the day before with meetings of various management committees and specialist groups. The agenda included the industry's most pressing topics, which were presented by speakers from the association. Against the backdrop of the tense economic situation and the European elections in June, the main topics discussed were developments in the EU Green Deal and the associated complex regulatory requirements. In the evening, the participants got to know the state capital better on a guided tour and met at a gala evening in the Electoral Palace. On Wednesday morning, President Peter Jansen officially welcomed the guests and representatives of other associations: Jansen led through the regularities - including the auditor's report and the discharge of the Board of Directors - with his usual competence, as did VdL Managing Director Dr. Martin Kanert, who explained the association's most important political and regulatory activities and topics to the audience. In his sixth and final address, the outgoing President focused on the many problems and difficulties currently facing the German economy and, with it, the paint industry. Jansen concluded by expressing his thanks for the past six years of successful teamwork at the head of the association and said he was "proud to be able to hand over the VdL to my successor in excellent condition". Dr. Harald Borgholte thanked him on behalf of the VdL Executive Committee and the members for the past years and Jansen's many achievements in his honorary position. To the applause of the guests, he appointed Peter Jansen an honorary member.

Borgholte then put himself to the vote in the subsequent elections to the executive committee and was elected as the new association chairman by the plenary session. Dr. Harald Borgholte, Vice President at BASF Coatings, has been a manager in the industry for decades. He is currently Divisional Digital Officer for Coatings Innovation, among other things, and has been active at association level for several years, including on the Board and as Chairman of the European Paint Association CEPE. "The VdL is and must remain our strong voice as the coatings and printing ink industry in the public eye," he commented on his election "I am happy to volunteer in this role. We can only be successful together and in conjunction with other industry associations such as the VCI." The Executive Committee that will support him in the future was also newly elected. It consists of Dr. Rainer Frei (Frei Lacke) and Robert Fitzka (Sun Chemical) as Vice Presidents as well as Dr. Carl Epple (Epple Druckfarben), Klaus-Georg Gast (Axalta), Rainer Hüttenberger (sto) and Dr. Ralf Murjahn (DAW). Frank Gläser (Weilburger Coatings) and Bernd von Pachelbel (Dörken Coatings) were newly elected to the Executive Committee. Two interesting presentations rounded off the event: First, Fabio Tank from the "Boston Consulting Group" provided information on "The right personnel priorities in challenging times". In the keynote speech, Professor Lars Feld from the Walter Eucken Institute then gave an overview of the economic policy situation and provided answers to the question: "What economic policy measures are necessary to maintain Germany as a business location?" Finally, Managing Director Martin Kanert and the Chairman of the VdL Northeast District Group, Dr. Stefan Gramm, invited guests to a special annual meeting in Berlin: VdL will be celebrating its 125th anniversary there in 2025 as the representative body for manufacturers of German paints and coatings.

►Read also our report Challenging year 2023 for coatings, paints and printing inks about the VdL's annual business press conference for 2023 on February 19, 2024.