The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE) and the German association VDKF have agreed to a closer partnership through mutual membership. The decision was made during the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt in March.
Both organisations are actively engaged with key regulatory topics such as the F-Gas Regulation, PFAS ban, and Ecodesign requirements -areas that impact members of EPEE and VDKF alike. The mutual membership aims to strengthen collaboration, combine expertise, and create mutual benefits through shared networks.
“Many regulations affecting the work of refrigeration and air conditioning companies in Germany are set at the European level,” said VDKF Managing Director Marcel Rehder. “By cooperating with EPEE, whose representatives are well connected in Brussels, we will be informed earlier and more comprehensively to better prepare our members for upcoming changes.”
VDKF President Karl-Heinz Thielmann added, “I am pleased that we will expand and intensify our existing cooperation. The importance of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector is often overlooked by politicians, ministries, and the media. Only together can we ensure our industry is heard both nationally and across Europe.”
Christoph Brauneis will represent the VDKF in EPEE’s working groups.
EPEE President Andrea Vallejo welcomed the cooperation, stating, “EPEE greatly values its collaboration with VDKF, as it strengthens EPEE’s national-level network, which plays a key role in Brussels.”
EPEE Director General Russell Patten commented, “EPEE continues to expand its national network, as it is the member states that ultimately guide EU policy and legislation. Germany is a crucial market for the refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump sector, and we are stronger through our partnership with VDKF.”