Newly elected UEPG president Antonis Antoniou Latouros says the European Aggregates Association's new business plan focuses on promoting a sustainable industry essential to the economy and the quality of life across the continent.
Presenting the key industry body’s new three-year programme during his inauguration speech at the UEPG Delegates Assembly in Kiel, noerthern Germany, Latouros, a Cypriot national, who is also president of the Cyprus Aggregates Producers’ Association (CAPA), said: “You are sending out an important signal to everyone in our industry! Even from a small country and a small association, it is possible to take on leadership roles in UEPG.”
During the Assembly held on Friday 18 June, Latouros underlined that he feels proud to be the next president of UEPG. He said his three-year term as president would also reflect that the European aggregates industry mostly consists of SMEs (small & medium-sized enterprises) and that everyone can ensure her or his voice is heard.
Latouros’s work will be supported by Armin Richter (FVSK, Austria) as 1st vice president, Nigel Jackson (MPA, UK) as 2nd vice president and Leonie van der Voort (Cascade, Netherlands) as treasurer.
Latouros is managing director of Cyprus-based M.S.C Latouros Investments. In 2010, CAPA joined UEPG as a very active full member hosting several UEPG key events. Latouros became 1st vice president of UEPG in 2018.
Most of the UEPG delegates attending the Assembly were connected via videoconference as organising physical events and travelling across Europe was still restricted. Outgoing UEPG president Thilo Juchem invited a small group to Kiel to mark this very special moment for UEPG.
He underlined how exceptional his presidency was during the last three years. He stressed that the pandemic had proven the resilience of the largest non-energy extractive industry and the flexibility of both UEPG’s Brussels-based team and every association member.
UEPG represents the largest non-energy extractive industry in Europe with more than 3 billion tonnes of sand, gravel, crushed rock, recycled, manufactured and marine aggregates produced on 26,000 sites across Europe operated by 15,000 companies employing 200,000 people.
Read the forthcoming July-August 2021 issue of Aggregates Business Europe for an exclusive in-depth interview with UEPG’s new president.
