2008 marks the 50^th anniversary of CECIP, the European Committee for the Weighing Industry. (Literally C omité Européen des Constructeurs d'Instruments de Pesage).

Not surprisingly, the average person on the street will almost certainly never heard of CECIP, but its work has had, and will continue to have, far reaching consequences that affect our everyday lives.

CECIP was founded in 1958, shortly after the EC itself was formed by the Treaty of Rome. There was a feeling of change in the air with the prospect of harmonisation and greater liberalisation, and the European manufacturers of weighing equipment needed to be able to put forward a common view on new regulations and directives to the new European Community.

The initial meeting, convened in Paris on 10^th of December 1958, was attended by some very well known names in the scale industry; Dr Büchner for Germany, Mr Van Den Eynden for Belgium, Mr Testut and Mr Danne for France, Mr Curioni for Italy and Mr Olland for the Netherlands. The UKWF joined CECIP in 1962 and with the joining of former eastern bloc countries over the last decade, the official language has now been transposed from French to English.

The principle of friendly cooperation between CECIP members was written into the statutes from the very beginning. It was agreed that every effort should be made to reach mutual acceptance of a position without conflict. The need for voting was to be avoided if at all possible. Remarkably, to this day, this somewhat unusual tenet has worked well for CECIP, helping to create a pleasant and harmonious atmosphere within the Committee, with a sense of shared purpose even amongst competitors.

The weighing industry has gone through tremendous changes in the past decades, with new technologies and techniques being introduced in all sectors. Nowadays weighing is only one part, yet a vital one, of complete control and management systems that are used in every industry, from precious metals to bulk commodities and everything in between.

One thing is clear. The huge increase in the number and complexity of uses of weighing within sophisticated control systems results in a need for improved regulation and legislation - not a weakening.. Currently one of CECIP's aims is to ensure not only that there is a 'level playing field' for products placed on the market, whether by EC or non EC companies, but also that the relevant authorities exercise proper and uniform control of instruments in service. For this reason the Business and Trade Group within CECIP is being reformed with the intention of tackling abuses of the open market.

There is little doubt that the next 50 years promise to be interesting times and will bring many opportunities for CECIP to continue to help shape proper regulation within Europe. Given CECIP's special character, all this will undoubtedly occur in a pleasant and convivial atmosphere. For member federations CECIP has its finger on the European pulse and through that on the rest of the World.