BFPA AGMS and Conference at Warwick

09 Jun 2023

The British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) held its 2023 AGMs and Conference in Warwick on 25th May with over 60 members and guests attending.

BFPA President John Farmer and BFPA Distributor Council Representative Peter Willson (for Rob Woodley) chaired the BFPA and BFPDA AGMs respectively, and it was all change this year, with seven new BFPA Board members and three new Distributor Council members elected (see here for more details).

Incoming BFPA President, Rebecca Galley of Hydroscand Limited was elected to serve for two years (2023-2025) and Peter Willson of Hopespare Limited became the new Distributor Council Chairman and will also serve a two-year term of office. Swapnil Khedekar of Festo Limited was confirmed as the new BFPA Vice President and the new Vice Chairman of the Distributor Council was announced as Nick West of Allswage UK Limited.

LtoR John Farmer (BFPA President) and Rebecca Galley (Incoming BFPA President)

LtoR Chris Butcher (BFPA Managing Director) and Peter Willson (Incoming BFPA Distributor Chairman)

Following the AGMs, Jerry Hughes, Chairman of the BFPA Technical & Standards Policy Committee (T&SPC) presented a BSI long-service award certificate to Phil Keep (see separate article for more detail).

Two guest speakers made presentations on the theme of education, training and skills in the afternoon following the AGM.

The JCB Academy

Two outstanding young students, Lewis and Nadhi, from The JCB Academy, gave the first presentation “The JCB Academy, University Training Colleges and Industry Training Opportunities”.  They gave an overview of the JCB Academy and opportunities offered to young people to study for qualifications, and engage with manufacturing / engineering companies and experience business first hand. Established in 2013, the JCB Academy was the first University Technical College offering STEM based learning and has remained committed to promoting STEM subjects, rather than expanding to add the Arts to their curriculum.

If your company would like to follow up this presentation by visiting the JCB Academy or are interested in how they work with their employer partners, then please visit their website, particularly the section on employer involvement https://jcb-academy.com/employer-partners/

Marvelous Manufacturing

The next guest speaker was Angela Lawlor of Marvelous Manufacturing who gave a presentation entitled: “Manufacturing: Inspiring the Next Generation”. Angela was clearly passionate about attracting the younger generation into manufacturing and encouraged members to engage with local schools (visits, factory tours, open days etc.) to show young people that manufacturing can offer an exciting career while at the same time, lining up future talent for the fluid power industry.

CLICK HERE to download Angela Lawlor’s Marvellous Manufacturing presentation.

Jack Semple of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA) joined a networking dinner in the evening and led a lively discussion on the subject of “Skills for Manufacturing”.

Delegates attending the 2023 BFPA AGMs and Conference	Lewis and Nadhi, The JCB Academy
Angela Lawlor, Marvelous Manufacturing	BFPA AGM Networking

If you have any queries about the AGM, please contact Sarah@bfpa.co.uk