EWF celebrates three decades as key player in manufacturing transformation
The European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting (EWF), headquartered in Porto Salvo, Portugal, has celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. The organisation was founded in 1992 when companies in Europe realised that they needed to ensure they had highly qualified professionals to address the increasingly sophisticated usage in diverse industrial scenarios.
Together with a growing number of member organisations, EWF has also begun a steady enlargement of its activities to address new technologies; a more recent example is the International Additive Manufacturing Qualification System launched in 2019, with seven different qualifications, already present in seven counties. Furthermore, EWF has sought to participate in forums dedicated to ensuring humanity’s sustainable presence on the planet, as well as harnessing the promises of new technologies – from participation in circular economy technical committees to leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
“Looking back at all that we have achieved since EWF started back in 1992, we remain incredibly grateful to everyone that, with its vision, hard work and relentless commitment, have led us to today’s reality: A European organisation that is now global, a system that started on a sound base and keeps evolving to stay abreast of the newest trends, be they technological or methodologies, a network of members that represent the top organisations in their respective countries. And also, an organisation that is part of the forums where the future of manufacturing and of the required qualifications are being debated and defined,” stated Eurico Assunção, Deputy Director from EWF. “Above all, we look ahead and see all that needs to be done to pursue the next challenges and we believe that the best is yet to come, and we remain as committed as the ones that preceded us to ensure we continue to be at the core, with our members and our partners, of the transformation of manufacturing.”
Since its early days, the organisation’s ecosystem has grown to forty-four members, sixteen of which are non-European; seven Additive Manufacturing Authorized National Bodies (ANBs), forty-two Authorized National Bodies (Personnel Qualification), fifteen Authorized National Bodies (ANBs) – PCS (Personal Certification), and twenty-three ANBCC (Companies’ Certification).
The EWF has participated in over fifty different European projects, both as a partner and project coordinator, and continues to cooperate with its own European network of members as well as other organisations working on EU projects. The current number of diplomas and Certificates issued under the EWF licensed and managed Qualification and Certifications products stands at 500,000.
The EWF, its members and its partners intend to continue pushing for the adoption of the most advanced technologies, empowering teams and organisations to best leverage them. It intends to continue to participate in supporting processes and projects that expedite technology transfer from academia to companies, ensuring the long term competitiveness of manufacturing companies and contributing to the transition to more sustainable and advanced economies.
