HISTORY

The UNITOP was created in 1963 as "SCTHP" (Union of Hydraulic and Pneumatic Transmission Manufacturers), grouping together the manufacturers of this sector within a union organisation for economic and technical vocation

UNITOP groups today 48 companies including 4 continuous training organisations.

Towards the middle of eighties, the union changed its name to UNITOP (Union Nationale des Industries de Transmissions Oléo-hydrauliques et Pneumatiques).

Since 1998, it new logo, more modern, has better represented the reality of this sector and it applications..

The logo allows better the expression of the POWER of TRANSMISSION.

To emphasise this aspect, a slogan "La Dynamique par les Fluides" ("Fluid Power") was selected.

MISSION ET ACTIVITIES

The main missions of UNITOP are:

• Offering member companies a mutual structure for the reception and exchange of information .
• Informing companies about technical, economic and legal developments .
• Representing and promoting the profession .
• Ensuring the future and the competitiveness of careers.

ACTIONS

In order to assume these missions, UNITOP has suitable means.

Offering member companies a mutual structure for the reception and exchange of information:

Consists mainly in setting up a mutual strategy for recommendations, standards and "state of the art" rules; namely a means of advice and assistance to member companies.

For that, UNITOP relies on:

- The facilities of the "Maison de la Mécanique", at PARIS LA DÉFENSE, head office of some 50 professional organisations, members of the Federation of Mechanical Industry (FIM). - Committees and work groups dealing with specific topics : technical, economic or educationnal Unitop and its members can appeal to the competencies of FIM departments or specialised external consultants in the legal, technical, financial fields, or as regards marketing, export or management.

Informing member companies about economical and technical developments:

Help to anticipate, prepare, adapt and master technical developments, economic and legal. With regard to economic work, UNITOP permanently collects detailed information about national, European and international activities, draws up detailed data on the activity of customer sectors, is in possession of instantaneous indicators on the development of the activities.

With regard to technical activities, UNITOP has a permanent information about news (standards, patents, and products) available; it takes part in the development of standards within her field of competency:

At national level (AFNOR/UNM), 202 AFNOR standards have been published.

At European level (CETOP/CEN), 43 CETOP recommendations are in effect at this date.

In the international standards (ISO), 128 ISO standards.

UNITOP follows up the works with regard to research and development (co-operation with CETIM).

With regard to legal rules, it carries on with works on conditions of sales and guarantee, publishes recommendations on the application of Europeans directives and norms.

Representing and promoting the profession:

Reinforce the weight and influence of the profession towards its national and international environment. At this fact, UNITOP publishes every two years a trilingual address book. It organises promotional operations, maintains close relations with professional press, and takes part in major exhibitions in France and abroad.

Ensuring the future and the competitiveness of careers

Unitop develops activities in promoting and educating fluid power to young people, in co-operation with the french Department of Education and a number of organisations such as UIMM (Union des Industries Métallurgiques et Minières).

It also takes part in the education program developped by the CETOP.

ORGANIZATION

The professional structure is animated by a management team (General Secretary, Technical Adviser, technical and administrative secretariat), under the control and impulse of the Board.

A general Council (12 members) represents the whole of the Unitop's members.

The life of this professional organisation gets organised around:

Joint commissions (both hydraulics and pneumatics):

- Economical commission

- Education commission

Specialised commissions:

- Hydraulic commission

- Pneumatic commission

- Couplings, flanges and seals commission

Working groups dealing with particular subjects :

• Product standardisation,
• Legal (general conditions of sale),
• Relations with the Department of Education,
• Communication,
• Statistics,
• Etc,

SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS

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