CETOP is the European Fluid Power Committee. CETOP represents this industry in Europe. More than 50 years ago, national fluid power associations anticipated the idea of European unity by founding the European fluid power committee CETOP in Stockholm on 15th June 1962.
They thus created the basis for co-operation and communication at European level based on mutual trust and for the benefit of the industry as a whole.
CETOP is an umbrella organisation to which associations from 18 countries belong. CETOP thus represents over 1,000 companies, mainly manufacturers but also dealers, with almost 70,000 people and a market value of 13 billion EURO. This is a very high proportion of the industry as a whole 80 to 90% for most countries. Through these member associations all renowned companies in Europe belong to the European committee. Many of these companies are leading fluid power manufacturers and major players in the international markets.
The purpose of CETOP is to speak for the European fluid power industry. With regard to Northern, Central and Southern Europe, it has been highly successful in its role as an umbrella organisation. Virtually all the relevant European national fluid power associations are members of CETOP. In the countries of the extended European Union and in Eastern Europe, on the other hand, CETOP has some considerable potential still to exploit. Some of these countries, such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, are already represented in CETOP via their national associations while CETOP is in the process of making an initial contact with other countries. These include Bulgaria, Ukraina, Slovakia and Hungary. CETOP also intends to establish progressive contact with other countries. Undoubtedly, there will be certain cases where no fluid power association is in existence, and in these cases CETOP shall enter into discussion with other organisations with a similar character.
CETOP also has good contacts in other regions of the world and Works in close co-operation and mutual confidence with the relevant fluid power associations whenever appropriate. These associations are NFPA in America, FPSI in India, JFPA in Japan, CHPSA in China, TFPA in Taiwan and SAFPA in South Africa. Joint projects are concerned, for example, with the development of a world-wide statistical system.
A further idea is to open a dialogue with client industries. The European industry committees would be a useful medium for this in the first instance. CETOP envisages joint ventures in, for example, the field of education, since specialist personnel well trained in the field of fluid power are also an important factor for these client industries. Other proposed areas of activity are market observation and statistics.
