Association of German Metal Dealers
| Association of German Metal Dealers | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Registered association |
| Seat | Berlin |
| founding | 1907/1914
|
| place | Berlin |
| President | Petra Zeringer |
| executive Director | Ralf Schmitz |
| Members | 230 |
| Branch | Brussels, Vienna |
| Organization type | Association |
| Website | http://www.vdm.berlin |
The Association of German Metal Dealers e. V. (VDM) is a lobby and service association for the metal industry in Germany and Austria founded in 1914. Its roots go back to the "Association of Berlin Metal Dealers" and the "Association of Companies Involved in Metal Trading in Hamburg", which was founded in 1907. It has been based in Berlin since 2006. The VDM also has locations in Brussels and Vienna.
structure
The association represents the interests of around 230 member companies from the areas of trade, production and recycling. It is Neumetall-, Nebenmetall- and ferroalloy traders and companies in the non-ferrous metal - recycling -Wirtschaft which together represent an estimated 90 percent of the metal trade in Germany and Austria. If you include the branches of the member companies, the VDM covers over 700 locations in Germany and Europe. Metallurgical and smelting operations are also part of membership as sampler, at the LME brokers and other specialists working in the field of metal industry. The London Metal Exchange (LME) and the New York Metal Exchange (CME Group) are also members of the VDM.
Committee work of the VDM
The VDM is organized in the form of a registered association. Its members elect an honorary board every three years, which makes the fundamental political decisions. The VDM office implements the decisions of the board and is responsible for the day-to-day business of the association.
The specific interests of the member companies are bundled and discussed in the VDM working committees. The experts from the metal industry are represented in them. Each working committee is headed by two voluntary representatives from the member companies and supervised by a department head from the VDM office.
In the working committee Metal Exchange all relevant issues are about to consult the LME. It includes metal traders and metal producers, numerous brokers working on the LME and representatives of the London Metal Exchange. The trading conditions of the LME are discussed as well as the warehouse policy or the fee structure of the exchange.
The Environment Committee brings together the environmental experts from the member companies. The multitude of European and national environmental regulations is hardly comprehensible for medium-sized companies without the professional preparation by experts. The committee develops practical guidance and expert opinions for politics.
Tax and financial policy issues are the subject of the Tax Committee . In it, tax experts from member companies advise on current special tax law issues and try to find solutions on a political level.
In the quality associations for cable dismantling and waste electrical equipment , experts in these special areas of the metal recycling industry are united. Both quality communities develop standards for their areas. Questions of technology are in the foreground. Both quality associations have published their own publications, which can be requested from the VDM.
Around 80 percent of the Austrian metal trade is organized in the VDM. The Working Group Metals Austria offers these companies a platform on which the specific problems of these member companies can be discussed. Although most of the Austrian laws are based on EU guidelines, the national implementation in the Republic of Austria is mostly different than in Germany. The VDM is therefore also based in Vienna and works closely with the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) and other Austrian associations.
The members of the raw material policy working committee observe processes on the metal markets and help to draft requirements for policy makers. Central topics are European and national raw materials policy, conflict minerals as well as customs and trade policy.
The Strategic Special Metals / Ferroalloys Committee provides a discussion forum for companies involved in these areas. Internationally, the committee works with the Minor Metal Trade Association (MMTA) in London.
The partners of the VDM
International
The VDM is a member of the European Recycling Industries' Confederation (EuRIC), the European umbrella organization for the recycling industry. The representatives of the non-ferrous metal recycling industry form the European specialist division EUROMETREC within EURIC.
On a global level, the VDM is a member of the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). Central issues are trade and environmental policy.
In the field of strategic special metals, VDM works closely with the Minor Metal Trade Association (MMTA) in London.
National
The VDM is a member of the Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade, Services (BGA), a leading association of German business with over 70 member associations. In addition, the VDM is a partner of WV Metalle, the representation of the German metal industry. In the recycling sector, he works with numerous professional associations and the waste management association ESN and issues joint statements when it makes sense.
While the member companies of the VDM cover the raw materials sector, the members of the Trade Association for Wholesale Metal Semi-Finished Products (WGM) deal with the trade of non-ferrous metal semi-finished products. Sheets, tubes, rods and profiles are part of the range. VDM and WGM have been working together in a joint branch office since 1948.
Core tasks of the German metal industry
Procure new metals worldwide
Europe hardly has any geological resources of its own. Almost all metallic raw materials have to be imported. Against this background, metal trading in Europe is of particular importance. He has to act globally, quickly and reliably so that non-ferrous metals are available in sufficient numbers and can be produced in Europe.
The center of the international metal trade is London. The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the most important trading center in the world. The prices of non-ferrous metals around the globe are based on it.
Today the LME essentially has three core functions.
1. Pricing. At the LME, the internationally accepted reference prices are calculated on a daily basis, which are used worldwide by producers, traders and processors in their physical contracts.
2. Price hedging. Hedging can be used to protect against price risks in every phase of the production, processing, trading and consumption of metals through forward transactions.
3. Delivery. LME has licensed warehouses in which the traded metals can also be physically removed and stored. The physical fulfillment of contracts, however - besides futures trading - only accounts for a small part of LME turnover.
Metal recycling
With metal recycling, the VDM companies permanently secure the raw material base that is important for Germany's economic development.
The quality groups “cable dismantling” and “old electrical equipment” have formed within the VDM. The companies organized there are certified specialist companies at the highest level.
Non-ferrous metals
Non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper or lead are key materials for high-tech applications. Almost 70 million tons of non-ferrous metals are used worldwide every year, almost ten percent of them in Germany. They have become an integral part of our lives.
Special metals
In addition to trading in light and non-ferrous metals and the non-ferrous metal recycling industry, trading in specialties forms the third pillar of VDM. This not only includes ferro-alloys , but the entire spectrum of strategic special metals. Electronic metals such as gallium or selenium are just as much a part of this as chemical metals such as antimony and lithium.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Announcement of the public list of the registration of associations and their representatives. ( Memento from December 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 4.6 MB) Association entry No. 1865, p. 465.