PLBWA – Polish Association Meeting Report
September 16, 2013
On the 20th of June 2013 a meeting of the Polish Association , Woda w domu i w biurze” (Water at Home and at the Office) was held in a small, charming village called Smardzewice. The meeting was led by The Chairman of the Polish Association Mr Krzysztof Glinianowicz.
The whole event consisted of two parts: the first was only for members (during which GAM took place) and the second one was open for any HOD companies.
The part for members was divided into two sections: in the first the GAM took place where the Board activity for the last 3 years was summarized. Then an election of the new Association Board was carried out. The participants of the GAM elected the following members to the Board:
Krzysztof Glinianowicz, Grief, Poland – President
Andrzej Klejnowski, Piastpol – Vice President
Artur Kaniewski, Eden Springs, Poland – Vice President
Michał Zys – Board Member
Jeroen Peters, Nestle Waters, Poland – Board Member
Subsequently, a relevant resolution to approve the financial statement for 2012 was adopted.
Right after the GAM, for members only, the important issue of POU was covered.
PLBWA initiated the POU discussion at the end of 2012 and significant discussion took place during the previous meeting at the beginning of April 2013. The participants discussed and finally agreed upon a cooperation of our Association with the just being-established Polish Association of POU.
At the meeting in June the subject was discussed further. An important part of the meeting was a teleconference call with John Dundon - the Chairman of BWCA - who contributed to the matter significantly. John presented a short history of the water cooler and POU market development in the UK. A lot of interesting statistics regarding POU in the UK were presented.
After the part for members the meeting was open for all HOD companies. The following subjects were discussed.
Standarization – Mr. Andrzej Klejnowski from PiastPol presented the subject. The main aim of the presentation was to show the actual standards developed in 2005 by the Members of the Polish Section of the former EBWA for 3 and 5 gallon bottle neck.
The second purpose was to present the need for developing further standards for the watercooler element called the spike or bayonet. Mr. Andrzej Klejnowski emphasized the importance of this element in devices such as coolers and ceramic dispensers. He noted that it’s crucial to conduct the standardization of the spike as soon as possible. In order to do that, a special team consisting of specialists from our member companies was created.
Sanitization – a presentation by Mr. Michał Zys from Nestle Waters Polska. A special team consisting of the Association’s members was appointed in order to prepare a leaflet for final consumers covering the issue of 5 gallon distribution system. The main aim of this presentation was to introduce the subject, underline the fact that the sanitization should be done regularly, increase the consumer’s awareness of how important the procedure of sanitization is and to promote this service.
The system of Home Deliveries and the role of our Association - Artur Kaniewski - Eden Springs Poland. Mr. Kaniewski presented the issue of quality, health and its promotion, care about the environment and pro-ecological solutions in the HOD business as well as the advantages of having such system at home. The presentation ended with a discussion on handing over the subject of promoting Home Deliveries to a PR Agency which will prepare a professional campaign.
BPA – a presentation made by Mr. Stanisław Lubos from Greif Poland covered the main and real issues concerning introduced BPA.
KIG – The Polish Chamber of Commerce for the Bottling Industry – Mr. Artur Kaniewski from Eden Springs Poland, reported the current situation in KIG, he also mentioned problems they are facing. Afterwards, the President of KIG Mr Wojciech Rutkowski summarized the situation himself.
Watercoolers Europe as a communication platform – Mr. Jeroen Peters. A general vision and goals, main activity and structure of Watercoolers Europe were presented in the first part. Afterwards, the WE website was shown and discussed about.
Regular meetings of the PLBWA are held quarterly. Once a year an open meeting takes place where, beside members of PLBWA, other HOD companies are invited.