On 4 and 5 December 2017, the EWFA (European Window Film Association) held in Madrid its one-day Annual General Membership Meeting, followed the next day by a EWFA Council meeting.
The EWFA Annual General Membership meeting, which started again after being suspended during a few years, attracted numerous local Spanish Distributors, and is in line with the EWFA’s membership development strategy, focused on European Distributors members.
An event open to the association’s members and prospective members, the EWFA Annual General Membership meeting gathered more than thirty Manufacturers and Distributors participants. They had the opportunity to hear about varied topics, ranging from the newly-voted Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the European Conformity CE marking for window films, the use of Energy Performance Certificates in buildings, or discuss existing window tinting laws in Europe and recent legislative changes.
The event was monitored at all times by two lawyers who verified that the content of the General Membership Meeting and the discussions between the association’s members were fully compliant with the applicable competition laws. The attendees were briefed at the beginning of the session about the nature of the discussions that were banned, and were provided with some materials outlining the basic principles of competition law.
The day started with two EWFA-focused presentations: the 2018 budget by Darrell Smith, IWFA Executive Director, and the strategic plan by Stéphanie Priou, EWFA Manager, which introduced proposed activities for the year to come, taking into account the allocated financial resources. Activities highlighted for 2018 gathered knowledge creation and dissemination to members, exchange between members, advocacy at European and national levels, or alliances building and membership development.
Event attendants then had the opportunity to hear as a first speaker Neil Brabbs, from ARC Window Films (United Kingdom) introducing the Energy Performances of Window Films in European Climates, a study commissioned by EWFA which provides numbers and figures about energy savings provided by window films, measured in Kw/H, and applied to different types of windows in Northern, Central or Southern European climates. This study is believed to be critical to advocate for window films in Europe, as it puts in perspective potential savings for window films and acts as a supporting argument for window films to be integrated as energy-efficiency product within the heating and cooling sector.
Aaron Reeves, from Eastman (United Kingdom), then gave an overview of European legislations currently being developed and which will impact the window film sector, such as the recently voted Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the EED (Energy Efficiency Directive). He went on explaining the concept behind standards in force for window films, and notably EN-15752-1 “Glass in building. Adhesive backed polymeric film - Definitions and requirements”, which is the Part 1 of the standard, already released. Part 2 still needs to be worked on, with input from the sector (see later in this document, the presentation from Anne Minne). Aaron also explained the latest developments for EPCs (European Performance Certificates) for buildings and building parts, which are increasingly being used in the construction sector.
A one-hour Distributors’ meeting was then organised, in order for participants to exchange on their specific needs and expectations for the EWFA. Moderated by Carlo