In order to provide more benefits to its members, APRA Europe is to become an official legal entity: this will give the organisation more weight in the European Union when it comes to lobbying – and funding
“Everything changes and nothing stands still” is what the Greek philosopher Heraclitus already knew in ancient times. And so does APRA constantly change, adapt and evolve. We are happy to inform you that the board of APRA has just recently decided to elevate the long-existing APRA European Division – well known as APRA Europe – to an official European legal entity named Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association Europe. It will be a non-profit organisation located in Belgium.
In recent weeks, both boards from the US and Europe have worked hard to elaborate a feasible and easy-to-implement solution for strengthening the European activities. We have now reached a framework which does not affect operational membership but offers the chance to make more use out of an APRA membership. None of our members, neither in Europe nor in the US, will lose any of their benefits - but will gain even more.
How members will benefit
Having an individual legal entity with registered location in Europe will bring us more possibilities to extend our activities and to represent our members’ interests still better. Here are the main drivers and motivation for taking this step:
- Formal, legal presence within Europe allows for receiving funds from the European Union for APRA’s contribution to remanufacturing-related R&D projects. The outcomes of such projects can directly contribute to the sustainable success of our member companies.
- Being a European legal entity allows us to carry out targeted lobbying within law-giving institutions and among other politicians. This will result in a more precise, more reliable and more predictable business environment for our members and the whole remanufacturing industry.
- Our European members may find more identity with the association while also having a direct contact person within Europe (we have already reported on the new membership services of Dr. Michael Haumann).
- Decision processes within the cornerstones of the legal entity will be accelerated, leading to a more efficient organisation.
“We are happy to have a consensus on this step,” says Joe Kripli, president of APRA. “Daniel Koehler has our full trust and support to set up our European legal entity and bring it to profitable growth to the benefit of all our members.” More information will be forthcoming.
