Vanni Vignoli, president of Europump, discusses energy efficiency and contributing to a greener, more circular pump industry. Can you tell us about the history of Europump and who you represent? It was back in 1960 that the French writer, musician, politician and industrialist Robert Proton de la Chapelle (Pompes Deloule) and the German industrialist Ruprecht Weise had the idea of creating a multinational organisation to address the common interests of European pump manufacturers. Consequently, the European Committee of Pump Manufacturers was born in November 1960 with the additional participation of an Italian and a Belgium member. As de la Chapelle later said: "It was a grouping that went beyond purely commercial considerations and aimed at noble ends. Understanding between very different people but exercising the same profession, from North to South, from West to East, was born." In 1993 the General Secretariat moved to Brussels to be closer to the institutions and stakeholders of the EU. Today, Europump is located in the offices of Orgalim, the liaison group for the European engineering industry, which offers the advantages of access to a broad range of regulatory information and an early warning system on EU legislation, as well as excellent opportunities for cooperation with other sector associations and federations within the European industry. Today our membership comprises 16 National Associations in 12 EU Member States - Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden - as well as Turkey, Russia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Europump members represent more than 450 companies with a collective production worth more than {EUR}10 billion and employ more than 100,000 people in Europe. Our mission today is to serve as a spokesperson for the pump industry; to provide expertise on technical and other pump industry-related matters; and to provide an effective forum for exchange on matters of joint concern for our members.
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