Dries van Hapert – new ECTS Chairman

At the first half-yearly meeting of the ECTS, held at De Boer Machines Nederland, Dries van Hapert, Managing Director of the host company, was elected as the new ECTS Chairman for three years. Other newly elected board members are Luca Caramelli, Bongioanni Macchine (Italy), Felipe Verdés, Talleres Felipe Verdés (Spain) and Paul Eirich, Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich (Germany).

Dries van Hapert, born 1959, holds an engineering degree from the Technical University of Eindhoven, Netherlands. Born into a traditional brickmaking family, his further credentials include many years of experience as a plant manager at different brickworks in the Netherlands, the UK and other countries. In 2002 he joined De Boer as sales director, becoming its managing director in 2011.

The ECTS spring meeting was held at the company’s new and impressive premises in Wijchen, Netherlands. During the meeting, two new members were welcomed to the association: Forgestal (Spain) and Bernini Impianti (Italy). The members decided to organize another technological symposium in the Indian city of Kolkata in February next year in order to reach out to the brickmaking community of West Bengal.

The next meeting will take place in Hardheim (Germany), on 29 November, at the invitation of Maschinenfabrik Gustav Eirich, which is proudly celebrating its 150-year anniversary this year.