Friday, July 17, 2009

New structure for the Nickel Institute


July 2009. The Nickel Institute1, the body that represents 90 per cent of the world’s nickel producers, has announced a change in focus that will result in a modification of its organisational structure. The objective is to refocus the strategic direction and resources of the Nickel Institute on the defence of nickel markets and the promotion of the use of nickel-containing materials.
The new structure has been launched in response to increasing legislation restricting the use of nickel and its compounds and in order to enable the industry to weather current global economic conditions.
The activities of the Nickel Institute will be spearheaded from its main office in Brussels, with additional locations in the USA, Canada and Asia to serve the needs of members and markets. The new structure will consist of three main divisions:
Hazard Quantification and Classification headed by Hudson Bates;
Regulatory Defence headed by Hugo Waeterschoot;
and Promotion headed by Peter Cutler,
all reporting to Steve Barnett, who continues in his role as President of the Nickel Institute.
The reorganisation will enable the Nickel Institute to focus its activities on regulatory compliance, particularly with REACH2 and GHS3, while ensuring that nickel and its compounds are appropriately classified by these Regulations based on sound science. The new structure will be completed by the end of 2009.
Steve Barnett commented: “The revamping of the organisational structure of the Nickel Institute will allow us to concentrate on the most important issues currently facing the nickel industry and to achieve our critical goals of both defending and promoting our markets on behalf of our members.”
Barnett explained: “This will be achieved by a more effective use of the Institute’s existing resources, and a renewed strength of purpose in tackling the most important current and future issues faced by the nickel industry. The targeted use of our financial and human resources will put us in a stronger position once the current economic downturn eases. A simplified three-team structure will allow us to promote the use of nickel and its compounds to end-users, with particular focus on China, and to the relevant standards authorities.”

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