Internationalisation

Securing and expanding business

A vast majority of the more than 1.000 organisations within our network manufacture their technologies in Europe. By doing so, they create sustainable, highly skilled jobs in important areas of the secondary and primary sector. These companies are significant contributors to national public accounts and play an important role for the development of the regions they are based in.

At Eurovent, we want to contribute to an environment that enables these manufacturers to secure and expand their business not only in their home country, but also on a European and international level. In order to ensure this, Eurovent and its members stand for a sensitively regulated market that enables manufacturers to act in a true level playing field. Hand in hand, we work towards diminishing unfair and indirect trade barriers caused through, for example, different interpretations of international standards or European Directives on a national level, or various types of certificates required to enter certain markets.

The importance of standards

Standards are key for the internationalisation of our industry, ensuring the safety and quality of products and services, facilitating international trade and improving the environment in which we live.

The many EN and ISO standards applicable to our industry draw on international expertise and experience and are therefore a vital resource for governments when developing public policy. EN and ISO standards can also remove barriers to world trade by providing the technical basis on which political trade agreements can be put into practice, whether they are at the regional or international level.

As an industry, we have been and are involved in the development of hundreds of EN and ISO standards. We support the wide-spread implementation of the latter around the globe, and strongly oppose the bilateral promotion of non-ISO standards as technical trade barriers.

Global cooperation with international associations

ICARHMA

Our association is a founding member of ICARHMA, the International Council of Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Heating Manufacturers Associations, and representing the European industry within this network.

We advocate a harmonisation of policy areas and standards within ICARHMA whenever possible in order to ensure a global level playing field, acknowledging that markets often have different characteristics that cannot be ignored, including, for example, market, climatic and testing conditions.

Having made significant experiences with the integration of European countries over the past decades and having to deal with many countries within our association network, we hold that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not the best way forward. At Eurovent, we support other markets to develop themselves and actively share our best industry practices and experiences.

In general, Eurovent encourages ICARHMA members from around the globe to think beyond refrigerant-related issues that have dominated this association’s discussions over the past years. This is also reflected in our industry values.

REHVA

REHVA is the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations representing a network of more than 100.000 engineers from 26 countries. REHVA is the professional pan-European organisation dedicated to the improvement of health, comfort and energy efficiency in all buildings and communities.

For several decades, REHVA has been a key partner of Eurovent and both associations have been working closely together on key issues of our relevance for our industry. Eurovent and its members support the activities of REHVA whenever possible.

European industry values and innovation leadership

Eurovent and its members share and integrate these principles in their positions. Our association is not shy in acknowledging that manufacturers within our network play a leading role in the development of state-of-the-art Indoor Climate (HVAC), Process Cooling, Food Cold Chain, and Industrial Ventilation technologies. Their products are unique in a sense that they are at the forefront of technological developments.