More than 100 people, including the Chief Executives of the Associations and Delegates from the different countries, coming from some of the most influential industrial corporations and companies in the European economy will be meeting in San Sebastian.

The Spring General Assembly of CECIMO is the main meeting of those held worldwide relating to the Machine Tool industry. It is held annually and brings together executives from the main industrial companies in Europe. CECIMO, the European Committee for the cooperation of the Machine Tool sector, is the ideal platform for identifying and promoting strategic initiatives to improve the global competitiveness and leadership of the European machine tool industry. The presidency of CECIMO is currently held by AFM, which has belonged to the European association since 1962.

Set up in 1950, CECIMO represents and promotes the interests of European machine tool manufacturers. Its members are the fifteen national associations from the following European countries: Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey. CECIMO defends the interests of approximately 1,550 companies (80% of which are SMEs) which employ 160,000 people and account for 98% of the sector’s total production in Europe, and 46% of world production.

The Meeting is a unique occasion to raise the profile of Spanish industry, giving a leading role to the machine tool manufacturers located in and around the province of Gipuzkoa, whose facilities will be visited during the first day of the Meeting. Both the ICEX, the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute, accountable to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, as well as the SPRI, the Basque Development Agency and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, through its Department of Innovation and Knowledge Society, support this new initiative of the machine tool sector.