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Five questions to…

Chairman of the EAPA Technical Committee
EUROVIA Services GmbH, Germany
@avm2de

Knut Johannsen

What is your EAPA history
Since 2017 I’m chairing the Technical Committee. In this function I’m reporting to the General Council Assembly (GCA).

What was your first contact with EAPA?
My first direct contact with EAPA was in March 2014 in Cologne, when I participated in a meeting of the Technical Committee (TC) as national delegate for the German Asphalt Association (DAV).

Why is an association like EAPA needed?
It’s not really a question, is it? Asphalt standards are no longer a national topic. And we definitely have a need to get represented at the European level. Asphalt industry should try to get the best regulations possible.

What is the biggest challenge for the asphalt industry?
As a fragmented industry getting heard in a globalized world is probably the biggest challenge for us.

What will be the next major innovation drivers for the industry?
We will experience that HSE parameters will have even more relevance than technical aspects.

EAPA Directors`Group
CEO, DAPA, Danish Asphalt Pavement Association
@anders_hundahl

Anders Hundahl

What is your EAPA history?
Since 2009, when I became CEO in DAPA, I have been a part of the Directors’ Group. It has always been very inspiring to work in this committee.

What was your first contact with EAPA?
The meetings in the Directors’ Group and the intense joint work of the asphalt industry in IARC Monograph for Bitumen Fumes.

Why is an association like EAPA needed?
It is our eyes and ears in EU, Brussels, where important regulations and laws are being discussed years before we see them implemented in the national countries. And of course, a platform for value-creating professional networks and knowledge sharing.

What is the biggest challenge for the asphalt industry?
To make the public and the politicians understand the value of road infrastructure and to get adequate funding and long-time planning – preferably at least 10-year plans. 

What will be the next major innovation drivers for the industry?
We have to reduce CO2 emissions and the asphalt industry shall play an important role in that fundamental change. It will demand hard work and creative thinking in the whole chain – from raw materials overproduction to re-use. Roads are a basic requirement for cars and when they come to run on clean electricity, the industry becomes a valuable part of the green future.

Member of EAPA Executive Committee
Former EAPA President
President of Turkish Asphalt Contractors Association-ASMÜD
@Ayberk_Ozcan

Ayberk Özcan

What is your EAPA history?
Since 2006 I am a member of the EAPA Executive Committee. I was the Vice President from 2014 to 2016 and then President for the next two years.

What was your first contact with EAPA?
My first contact with EAPA was in December 1999, when our Association became a member of EAPA.

Why is an association like EAPA needed?
An international association like EAPA is the acknowledged contact point and trusted voice of the industry on a global scale. Particularly EAPA provides networking, promotes standardization and best practices to develop asphalt industry in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.

What is the biggest challenge for the asphalt industry?
As an asphalt contractor, I think the biggest challenge is funding for road infrastructure. Maximizing road investment will be needed to cope with new challenges such as higher traffic demand, ageing infrastructure and traffic accidents.

What will be the next major innovation drivers for the industry?
The next major innovation drivers for our industry are sustainable materials, clean energy sources, new funding policies, digital technologies.

President EAPA
Executive President Asefma
@jjpotti

Dr. Juan José Potti

What is your EAPA history?
My participation as ASEFMA representative in EAPA began when I started my activity in Asefma, on April 1, 2006. I have been part of the Technical Committee for many years, now I am a member of the Directors’ Group, the Executive Committee, the Chairman of the Asphalt 4.0 Committee and since 2021 I am President of EAPA.

What was your first contact with EAPA?
Possibly my first contact with EAPA was during the First E&E Congress in Strasbourg in 1996. I have had the privilege of being able to attend all the E&E Congresses so far: Strasbourg 1996, Barcelona 2000, Vienna 2004, Copenhagen 2008, Istanbul 2012, Prague 2016 and Madrid 2021.

Why is an association like EAPA needed?
Associations such as EAPA must provide the associate with a medium and long-term vision. I worked in a private company in the sector for more than 20 years and I had the impression that each company tries to solve its specific problems, sometimes too internal, too fast. EAPA tries to look to the future, thinking globally and thinking about the collective interest of the sector, I think this is essential work.

What is the biggest challenge for the asphalt industry?
From my point of view, the great change in the Asphalt industry has already started. The digitization, digital transformation or Asphalt 4.0 of our activity is undoubtedly the greatest challenge we face. Far from being a problem, it is a great opportunity.

Why will the asphalt industry have a bright future?
It depends on our objectives, but I think the answer should be yes. We find ourselves living in a very unique time. Environmental requirements have never been mixed at the same time with digital requirements of the activity and with a new concept of mobility. If we make SMART objectives arise from here that let the vision and the sector grow, the answer will undoubtedly be yes.

Member of the EAPA Director’s group, EAPA Technical Committee, and EAPA Health, Safety & Environment Committee
Director of Hungarian Asphalt Pavement Association (HAPA)

Tibor Veress

What is your EAPA history?
Member of Director’s Group, Technical Committee and HSE Committee since 2010

What was your first contact with EAPA?
I attended my first E&E Congress in Barcelona in 2000. Since then, I have attended all E&A Congresses and Events. In 1993, I attended a HAPA conference where Mr Max Van Devivere, then Secretary-General of EAPA, gave a presentation.

Why is an association like EAPA needed?
This is not a good question! Non-member countries should be asked why they do not join as members. We live in an age where information is of greatest value and its dissemination is handled by EAPA in perfect ways.

What is the biggest challenge for the asphalt industry?
Since the 1850s, no type of paving material has ever been found that can be put into service immediately after completion, can be easily and quickly repaired, has a lifespan of 30 years, and can then be recycled. I don’t think they’ll even find a better one in the future.

At the age of seventy-two, why do I still deal with asphalt?
Because I am still waiting for the smell of the first asphalt paving in spring every year, and I would like to show the world the hospitality of Hungary at the 2024 E&E Congress in Budapest.

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