Dear Members and Colleagues. Dear friends of EFFC.

Almost two years ago, in 2017, I was appointed President of the EFFC, on behalf of the Spanish association AETESS. In a few days we will hold our Annual Assembly at which my mandate will end.

It has been an honour for me to carry out this position throughout these two years, which have passed quickly, and in which we are living political events in Europe, which are influencing the progress of some of our associations, by the reduction of construction activity in the local markets of our companies. The appearance of populist or pro-independence politicians is causing instability in the governments of some countries in Europe, and consequently, they are negatively affecting investments in infrastructure and the promotion of private initiative projects.

On the other hand, we are living great changes in the world, motivated by the advance of the digital revolution, which is more and more present in our society and particularly in our companies: More ease in communications, monitoring and remote control of our mechanical equipment, digital modeling of our designs (BIM), and other applications that improve the effectiveness of our decisions and reduce response times.

Focusing on the EFFC, we have managed to maintain a good level of activity, thanks to the voluntary contribution of the representatives of our members and collaborators, without which, we would not have carried out issues such as:

– Final edition of the Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations.

– DFI-EFFC International Conference in Rome.

– Incorporation into the EFFC of the company Kastas, as a new affiliate member, and the first associate members, Klemm, Commachio, Bauer, Tensar, Optimise, and Huesker.

– Participation in FIEC’s SOC and TEC working groups.

– First edition of the Guide to Support Fluids for Deep Foundations.

– Draft of the EFFC Guide to Working Platforms.

Nevertheless, there are still new challenges to be faced, such as achieving a greater participation of young geotechnical engineers in the federation, in order to ensure the renovation of the EFFC and contribute to the maintenance of our profession.

It is time to thank the participation of the colleagues representing the Executive Committee and the General Assembly, as well as the chairs of the Technical, Contracts, Health&Safety and Sustainability Working Groups and the Task Groups. I would especially like to thank Chris Harnan for his personal attitude, encouragement and professional contribution in the carrying out of the two Guides: Tremie Concrete and Support Fluids, mentioned above.

I also appreciate the collaboration of the representatives on the Officers Committee, and the assistance of Ciaran Jennings, and his team, as head of the Federation Secretariat.

Finally, I would like to thank the EFFC for giving me the opportunity, not only to discuss professional matters, but also to share with colleagues, and their partners, different social events, cultural acts and tours, in the different cities we have visited; which constitutes an important attraction of the federation’s activity, encouraging personal relations.

I hope that the soul of the EFFC remains alive and well, so I will continue to collaborate as much as I can, wishing all the best to Andreas Koerbler, as the next president of the federation, on behalf of the Austrian association.

José Candela

(on behalf of the Spanish association AETESS)

October-2019