Trade organization Building Automation is affiliated with FHI

The Dutch Trade Organization for Building Automation has joined FHI, the federation of technology industries. As of January 1, 2016, the affiliation as the fifth FHI branch has formally become a fact. After approval by both general members meetings at the end of 2015, the chairmen, Piet van Veelen from the Building Automation branch and Eric van Schagen from FHI, were able to raise their glasses on January 21, 2016. Both organizations expect to strengthen each other. The Building Automation industry can now offer its members the full package of industry services from FHI, find collaboration more easily across the boundaries of its own industry and exert more weight in representing its interests with the government and other stakeholders. On the other hand, FHI welcomes the new member sector because it increases the support of the federation and because companies in other FHI branches also have an interest in cooperation across sector boundaries. A large number of FHI companies are already making connections between building automation and industrial electronics or industrial automation, two of the four 'old' FHI branches. The Dutch Trade Organization for Building Automation is still quite young. The association was formally established on January 1, 2012, after a short preparatory period, on the initiative of companies affiliated with other branches of FHI, LonMark Netherlands and BACNet. In a short time, the organization has grown into a strong partnership of sixty affiliated companies that together represent an important part of the supply in the Netherlands, spread across the value chain. Over the past three years, FHI management, the industry board and members, have developed and expanded a robust package of industry activities, with the annual highlight being the National Building Automation Conference. For FHI, it is the second time in its sixty years of existence that a trade organization has formally joined the federation. In 1991, when the cooperative association Het Instrument was transformed into the association FHI, federation of technology branches, it was the Industrial Electronics branch that joined. With this industry and the industries for Industrial Automation, Laboratory Technology and Medical Technology, FHI has since been an important factor in the Netherlands in joint technology marketing, advocacy for the affiliated companies and industry services for the same companies. Both chairmen expect that the Dutch Trade Organization for Building Automation will continue to grow to one hundred to one hundred and fifty affiliated member companies in the new constellation in the coming years.