The second-hand machine dealer association celebrated from 17th to 19th of April 2015, its 10th anniversary in Prague, the city where the association has got its registered office.
But who or what are PIDA?
Start-ups and inaugurations of new machines and paper mills are usually celebrated in public with garlands, speeches and a lot of publicity. The end of the lifetime of a pulp or paper mill or its machines, generally named as “disinvestment” usually happens in the shadow. And so are usually the activities of the companies and persons, the so-called “second-hand machine dealers” - involved in the sales and removal of the surplus machines and plants, are happening behind the curtain of publicity. Year by year dozens of plants and machines and countless components from the “saturated” markets in Europe, Asia and North America are taken out of operation for various reasons and then are either ending up in dark and dusty corners of the mills where they are forgotten for many years, are put in scrap containers or find a new “job” somewhere else in the pulp and paper world.
Especially in the emerging markets in Asia, Africa, South America but also in Eastern Europe the growing pulp and paper industry to a large extent is based on second-hand machines from Europe and North America. Usually the disinvesting pulp and paper mills and liquidators neither have got the experience and market contacts nor the resources to handle the rather complex, time consuming and costly marketing, sales and removal procedures for this surplus equipment.
This role usually is taken over by second-hand machine dealers. Most of them are family owned and operated companies, many of them existing already for decades, surviving in a rather competitive and deregulated business environment. Until 2005. Then a few European and American machine dealers decided that it was time for a change. It was their main intention to subject this business to a more controlled and coordinated way of working and last not least also to reinstall certain ethics, which in this business often had been neglected. They founded PIDA (Paper Industry Dealers Association) with the purpose to subject themselves to certain rules and regulations with respect to the fair and professional treatment of their principals and customers but also about the way they would compete and co-operate with each other. Main purpose of all this was to offer to their principals and customers better services. It was an experiment for this group of rather independent and individual companies and none of them was sure whether it would fulfill the high expectations. Now, 10 years later, can be clearly stated, that it was a great success for all members for their customers and principals. The nowadays 13 members of PIDA, often in coordinated actions, have sold dozens of complete pulp and paper machines and hundreds of components to customers all over the world. Consortiums of PIDA-members successfully handled large and complex disinvestment projects. PIDA nowadays not only offers sellers and buyers of second-hand machines for the production and converting of pulp and paper the worldwide largest pool of second-hand machines and potential buyers but also a complete range of services from valuations of equipment to dismantling and shipping and/or scrapping of whatever is left. Customers and principals find in PIDA also an association which has got a very open ear for their specific wishes and complaints. During the 10th anniversary celebrations held in Prague, the chairwoman of the board Mrs. Susanne Hankala congratulated all members to the successful co-operation during the past 10 years and made a very positive outlook for the future of PIDA.
