At ITMA 2019 in Barcelona, the French Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (UCMTF) confirmed Christian Guinet as the organisation’s new secretary general and subsequent successor to the retiring Evelyn Cholet.
Guinet’s responsibilities as secretary general officially commenced on 1 September 2019, which brought an end to Cholet’s 34-year reign in the post.
Bruno Ameline, UCMTF president, says: “It is a great opportunity for us to welcome Christian (Guinet) and he fits all our requirements. He is a textile engineer, he joined one of our members in 1982, and in the three decades since then he developed into an experienced export manager who is in charge of the sales, financing and credit insurance.
“We know each other very well, but within our organisation he has been President of our promotion committee. In that position, he organised – with Cholet – our road shows, seminars and national pavilions in many fairs. He also successfully managed our relations with the textile press.”
The transition with Cholet has been extremely smooth as they had been working together for many years, Ameline adds.
But, despite the appointment of “a new and very capable secretary general”, Ameline acknowledges that UCMTF members are sad to witness Cholet retire as secretary general.
“[Cholet] joined our association in 1985 to organise ITMA 1987 and stayed with us for over three decades,” Ameline adds. “All our contacts know and appreciate her. I am quite sure they will welcome Christian (Guinet) who shares the same values as Evelyne (Cholet). He will be a great asset to our 35 members who are exporting their machines and services, worth more than $US1bn annually, all over the world.”
For more information about the UCMTF visit www.ucmtf.com.
