The Current challenges in the fireplace industry were the subject of discussions at the European Fireplaces Association’s (EFA) autumn conference in Graz
Members and guests of the European Fireplaces Association (EFA) were faced with a number of exciting topics at this year’s autumn conference in the Austrian city of Graz. On 7th and 8th November, the most important representatives of the fireplace, chimney and supplier sectors got together to discuss current challenges.
The topics were more relevant than ever: particulate matter, filter methods and marketing. Dr Ernst Höftberger from bioenergy 2020+ gave two lectures to a full house. As one of the researchers involved in the BeReal project, he gave detailed explanations of various measuring methods and their benefits.
Association Chairman Uwe Striegler was more than pleased with the lectures: “As an association, we were able to show that we are tackling important questions facing the sector and that we have a realistic view of the problem of particular matter in particular.” As a result, the association will pursue more intensive political work over the months to come and, to this end, will also change its structures.
Parallel to the talks, interested parties could follow the conference via the Twitter account, which has been active since April 2018. Ursula Gröbner, Vice-Chairwoman and board member responsible for communication, had this to say: “Transparency is very important to us; as an association, we have no interest in being an inner circle.” The spring conference is slated to take place this coming April, and this time will be in Germany once again. The date and location are yet to be announced.
