Presentation of the Association of the European. Machinery Rings (EMR)

Transcription

1 Presentatin f the Assciatin f the Eurpean Machinery Rings (EMR) Intrductin Agriculture and frestry are the main land users and play a key rle in the management f natural resurces in rural areas and in determining the rural landscape. Agriculture makes a valuable cntributin t the sci-ecnmic develpment f rural areas. Machinery Rings are a cncept that prvides management bth scial and ecnmic t assist develpment f the cuntryside. In rder t maximise pprtunities, Machinery Rings need t invest in the future, creating new emplyment pssibilities and encuraging rural diversificatin and sustainability. Withut the Machinery Rings, many rural areas culd face ecnmic, scial and envirnmental prblems. New EU member states culd be assisted in their mdernisatin with Machinery Ring structures and knwledge, by adpting an internatinal management system that prvides fr lcal and individual requirements. What is a machinery ring? A machinery ring is an agricultural c-perative, which wrks t c-rdinate the use f labur and machinery within its membership. It prvides its members with pprtunities t utilise their labur and machinery assets better thrugh cntracting with ther members. Fr example; let us say that if farmer A des nt wn a plugh. When he requires plughing n his farm, he cntacts his machinery ring, which finds anther member, farmer B, wh wns a plugh and is willing t carry ut plughing fr thers. The machinery ring intrduces A t B, wh agree with each ther a price fr the wrk. On cmpletin f the wrk, the machinery ring cllects payment frm A and transfers it t B by direct debit / credit. The rles f machinery rings are: 1. T hld a data-base f all members machinery and labur assets which may be available n cntract t ther members 2. T hld a data-base f all the wrk requirements f members which may be available in prviding cntracting pprtunities t thers 3. T practively manage 1 & 2 t the benefit f each, matching demanders with suppliers in carrying ut this rle. The machinery ring acts as an agent intrducing businesses t each ther, it des nt wn any machinery and it will nt carry ut any f the cntracting peratins. Machinery Rings are nt prfit-mtivated businesses. They perate n a cst recvery basis and their purpse is t prvide the services described here t its members. Zusammenschluß der Eurpäischen MR-Landesverbände e.v. Amalienstr. 21/22 Amtsgericht Vlksbank Neuburg Assciatin f the Eurpean machinery rings D Neuburg an der Dnau Inglstadt BLZ IBAN DE Assciatin eurpéenne des Cercles d Echanges Präsident ; Lenhard Ost VR Kt-Nr Swift Cde: GENODEF1ND2

2 The histry f Machinery Rings The first machinery rings were funded mre than 50 years ag (1958) in Bavaria and then spread t Austria and the rest f Germany. Mre than 25 years ag the idea als was adpted in Sweden and Sctland, since when ther Eurpean cuntries fllwed. Recently Italy and Switzerland have started Machinery Rings and Latvia has als sught help t develp the idea. Machinery Rings are nt nly used in Eurpe but als in Japan and Brazil. Austria and Germany still have the highest density f Machinery Ring businesses. Indeed mre than 50% f all the German farmers are members f a Machinery Ring and the figure in Luxemburg stands even higher at 80%. The cmmitment thrugh membership and turnver in ther cuntries suggests that whatever the service, mre farmers and mre businesses are using Machinery Rings as management tls ver ther ptins. As agricultural and rural industries adapt t change, it is clear that machinery Rings are making an increasingly imprtant cntributin t rural business sustainability EMR (Eurpean Machinery Ring Assciatin) EMR was funded in 1992 during the Inter-MR cnference in Edinburgh, Sctland. It was a wrking cmmittee f Eurpean natinal machinery ring assciatins. In 2000 it became a federatin. The head quarters is situated in Neuburg/Dnau, Germany. The current members f the executive are President: Lenhard Ost, Germany Vice-Presidents: Göran Abrahamssn, Sweden and Hans Peter Werderitsch, Austria Current members in the EMR are Austria, England&Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy (Suth Tyrl), Luxemburg, Macednia, Nrway, Slvenia, Sweden and Switzerland, representing sme 300,000 individual businesses. The aims f the EMR 1. Prmte the cncept f machinery rings thrughut Eurpe and assist with the develpment within the membership 2. T sustain and enhance rural businesses thrugh better management systems and ideas. 3. Advancement f the Machinery Ring Yuth. These aims are achieved by cmmunicatin between member assciatins, where the exchange f infrmatin and knwledge enables the members t be better infrmed and therefre better prepared t face an uncertain future. EMR has the ability t be able t cmpare the different fiscal regulatins between cuntries, which determine hw the Machinery Ring cncept can be adapted t different member states. In the last years EMR rganized internatinal benchmarking seminars, where Machinery Ring managers had been able t cmpare their management techniques with ther similar businesses. EMR had als been instrumental in skilled labur exchange between different cuntries nt nly making better use f skills but als the climatic differences between the cuntries invlved. At the mment it is als an imprtant aim t inspire the yuth in the rural areas f the MR-idea. Because f this reasn in September 2014 in Austria fr the third time will take place EMR Next that addresses t yung peple between 18 and 30 years frm all ver Eurpe wh cme frm an Zusammenschluß der Eurpäischen MR-Landesverbände e.v. Amalienstr. 21/22 Amtsgericht Vlksbank Neuburg Assciatin f the Eurpean machinery rings D Neuburg an der Dnau Inglstadt BLZ IBAN DE Assciatin eurpéenne des Cercles d Echanges Präsident ; Lenhard Ost VR Kt-Nr Swift Cde: GENODEF1ND2

3 agricultural envirnment. The exchange between the participants frm the different cuntries is in the fcus f this seminar. Furthermre the meaning f cperatin shall be wrked ut because it is an imprtant pillar f MR-wrk. Benefits f Machinery Rings Machinery Rings have prven t be f substantial value t farm businesses, matching spare capacity with shrtfalls, enabling them t reduce verhead and variable csts thrugh better utilisatin f assets. They have succeeded in generating ecnmic activity, and fr sme members have prvided an additinal incme stream frm cntracting, in effect cnstituting a farm diversificatin. Several machinery rings have als actively pursued wrk pprtunities utside farming, t prvide farmer members with additinal pprtunities t utilise machinery during perids when farm peratins are at lw levels such as winter. Availability f machines fr all farm peratins Access t capital equipment withut capital utlay Access t additinal capacity during peak seasn Access t back-up and breakdwn cver Access t up-t-date-technique Flexibility and lwer csts n the farm Crdinatin f shared machinery grups Cultivatin cntracts Crdinatin f c-perative prjects (e. g. bigas, cmpst) Labur Prvisin Benefits Labur is a key element f any rural business. The farm labur pl is shrinking and mre and mre farms are becming farmer-perated. In case f illness farmers need skilled wrkers t cntinue the wrk n the farm. In sme cuntries in Eurpe the scial insurances rely n machinery rings t prvide skilled labur t the required places. There is als a need fr labur either regularly thrughut the year r at peak times, which can be supplied by Machinery Rings prviding additinal wrk where there are shrtfalls, alng with pprtunities in ther rural sectrs. C-rdinatin and develpment f new ideas Greater access t labur Greater availability f a range f skills Diversificatin pprtunities beynd agriculture Flexibility and lwer csts n the farm Less administratin as machinery rings handle the emplyers legislative administratin requirements, e.g. NI and PAYE (GB) In case f illness, e.g. payment f the scial insurances C-rdinate the emplyment f seasnal labur frm ther cuntries, e.g. frm Pland Zusammenschluß der Eurpäischen MR-Landesverbände e.v. Amalienstr. 21/22 Amtsgericht Vlksbank Neuburg Assciatin f the Eurpean machinery rings D Neuburg an der Dnau Inglstadt BLZ IBAN DE Assciatin eurpéenne des Cercles d Echanges Präsident ; Lenhard Ost VR Kt-Nr Swift Cde: GENODEF1ND2

4 Cmmdities A cmprehensive range f cmmdities can be purchased thrugh machinery rings, e.g. fuel, fertiliser, feed, hay, straw and even building supplies. Discunts can be negtiated thrugh grup purchasing, ffering savings t individual members. In sme cuntries Machinery Rings als ffer administrative help in the running f farms. There are varius benefits gained by the members: Time is saved as members nly need t call the machinery ring rather than phne a number f suppliers fr a price Purchase requirements are pled s quantity discunts can be negtiated Training Training is nw a key issue fr all businesses. Mst machinery rings r their subsidiary training businesses are registered training prviders with expertise in rural training. They deliver a diverse range f curses fr agriculture, hrticulture, management and administratin. Training is available in the fllwing areas: Essential practical skills Legislative training and quality assurance Health and safety Management and technlgy Other special training needs Key strengths f machinery rings Machinery Rings have a number f key strengths which allw them t perate in the way that they d: They maintain a very lw cst structure They are quick and respnsive in their cmmunicatins They have a brad and high level f services, backed by efficient administratin Specialist cmputer prgrammes (e.g. the use f pesticides, databases fr management systems). They maintain expertise n machinery and labur csts, and the financial pprtunities prvided by machinery ring membership The wrking IT-systems used are an essential cmpnent in this respect and ne which is nrmally shared by all f the machinery rings in a cuntry. Zusammenschluß der Eurpäischen MR-Landesverbände e.v. Amalienstr. 21/22 Amtsgericht Vlksbank Neuburg Assciatin f the Eurpean machinery rings D Neuburg an der Dnau Inglstadt BLZ IBAN DE Assciatin eurpéenne des Cercles d Echanges Präsident ; Lenhard Ost VR Kt-Nr Swift Cde: GENODEF1ND2

5 Future develpments Lking frward the machinery ring system has much mre ptential yet t be realised: In sme cuntries the machinery ring business system is still very lw and there is massive scpe fr grwth. Machinery rings are ften still relatively unknwn. There are still farmers wh dn't knw what the machinery ring business mdel is. They still assume machinery rings are a means f sharing machinery wnership, and they have n idea what ther services they ffer, let alne the financial gains they can prvide. Overcming this will require a massive effrt and investment. There is a wider rle fr machinery rings in rural develpment and sme machinery rings have been truly innvative in adding ther services, based n pprtunities in their area r amngst their members. Extending and evlving these ideas beynd agriculture using the machinery ring mdel, culd let them be part f the rural business infrastructure, prtecting and enhancing the cuntryside fr the future. Cntact details EMR e.v. Lenhard Ost (President EMR) Amalienstr. 21/22 D Neuburg/Dnau Tel Fax emr@maschinenringe.cm Zusammenschluß der Eurpäischen MR-Landesverbände e.v. Amalienstr. 21/22 Amtsgericht Vlksbank Neuburg Assciatin f the Eurpean machinery rings D Neuburg an der Dnau Inglstadt BLZ IBAN DE Assciatin eurpéenne des Cercles d Echanges Präsident ; Lenhard Ost VR Kt-Nr Swift Cde: GENODEF1ND2