The Members‘ Meeting of the DCA could be successfully held on Wednesday 26.01.2022 in the course of a hybrid event at the Hotel Patentkrug in Oldenburg. A total of 74 people (60 member companies) from a total of 140 member companies took part. 53 participants connected via zoom, another 21 participants could be welcomed on site.
After the hybrid premiere in April 2021, the DCA also relied on a mixture of presence and online meeting for this year’s members‘ meeting. Central finding: the good work of the association is reflected in the number of members and participants. Due to Corona-related restrictions, only one participant per member company was allowed on site. As at the last Hybrid Members‘ Meeting, members also had the opportunity online to ask questions, contribute to discussions and participate in the elections via the digital voting overlay.
The agenda included a review of the past fiscal year and reports from the various departments. Reports were given from the task groups, on training and further education, and on the sponsorship program. This year there was also information from the DCA representatives, who reported from Italy, Spain, France and the UK. Jorn Stoelinga was again able to report positive news on membership development: After 18 new members in 2020, another 12 members joined last year. total, the DCA currently has 140 members – more than ever before. The upward trend is thus continuing, which is to be further expanded in the coming years with an increase in members from other European countries.
What is happening in the HDD sector in Italy, the UK, Spain/Portugal and France was reported on by DCA representatives Renzo Chirulli (Vermeer), Brian Jorgensen (Ditch Witch), Scott Stone (Michels) and François Gandard (Optimum). Clearly, there is much for HDD companies to do in these countries in the coming years as well; the potential in the areas of fiber, charging column infrastructure, gas pipelines, etc. is great. In the future, more members will be recruited for the DCA in these countries.
For the work of the past year, the board was discharged by the Members‘ Meeting at the request of the auditors. As the only member of the board Scott Stone was re-elected as assessor due to his change of company. Accordingly, the board consists of: President Jorn Stoelinga, the Vice Presidents Marc Schnau, Marco Reinhard and Atef Khemiri, Treasurer Jürgen Muhl and the assessors Scott Stone, Jörg Himmerich and Ronald Siebel. Dan Lingenauber and Silke Goldschmidt were re-elected as cash auditors; Thomas Winkler was newly elected as deputy.
This year, as far as Corona allows, workshops, seminars, the member forum in Aachen (suggestions for topics are welcome), trainings e.g. at the Bohrmeisterschule Celle, in Kassel are scheduled. Unfortunately, the training courses in the Netherlands were cancelled in January. It is unclear if and when the so far cancelled 25th anniversary celebration can take place. Firmly in sight, however, is the 26th annual congress, which will take place from October 5-7, this time in Great Britain, south of Birmingham in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown. For this, there is to be a new sponsorship concept with gold, silver and bronze sponsorships on various areas. The DCA Members Forum, originally scheduled for March 2022, has since been moved to May 2022 due to Corona. An exact date is yet to be announced.