Plumbing Champions from across the world gather at ISH 2023 to prefab some bathroom fixtures, which were then donated to a nearby local sport facility in Frankfurt. In what was a first of its kind event at an ISH Frankfurt show, 12 young plumbers/apprentices from eight different countries from around the world gathered at ISH Read more
World Plumbing Council
Plumbing Champions from across the world gather at ISH 2023 to prefab some bathroom fixtures, which were then donated to a nearby local sport facility in Frankfurt.
In what was a first of its kind event at an ISH Frankfurt show, 12 young plumbers/apprentices from eight different countries from around the world gathered at ISH Frankfurt earlier this year to work together for one single goal: prefab Geberit bathroom plumbing systems on the show floor, which would be eventually transferred off site to bathrooms at Niddahalle, part of the Eintracht Frankfurt sports club, west of the city.
“We are working together as a team in a collaborative workshop to produce some new bathrooms for the Eintracht Frankfurt sports club,” said Sean Keárny, Managing Director, for the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH). “We built them over the first three days of the trade show, and for the final two days of the trade show, we’ll be taking them to the facility and installing them. This is the first time anything like this has ever been done at ISH, and we are excited about that.”
The skilled plumbers assembled pre-wall frame systems and internal plumbing during the first three days of the ISH show. The systems were then transported to, and installed in, bathrooms at Niddahalle, which is undergoing modernization retrofits.
IWSH and the World Plumbing Council (WPC), brought the Plumbing Champions to Frankfurt from the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA), the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (Australia), Apprenticeship Training Trust (New Zealand) and the Connect Trade Union (Ireland); all hosted and working together alongside peers from the Frankfurt branch of Innung Sanitär Heizung Klima (SHK), the master craftsperson’s guild for sanitation, heating and air conditioning in the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The Plumbing Champions consist of: Patrick Howorka, Alexander Tödter and Colin Cubr (Germany); Danny Hoekstra (Australia); Sam Madgin (New Zealand); Veronika Schächle (Liechtenstein); Alex Svetz (United States); Elijah Sommers (Canada); and Jamie Bermingham and James Stenson (Ireland).
The bathrooms in Niddahalle are more than 40 years old, built before today’s high-efficiency plumbing solutions that use less water. “Frankfurt is a water-stressed area. Drought conditions threatened significant economic damage last year when water on the Rhine got so low it impeded barge traffic,” said Dave Viola, CEO of IAPMO and IWSH (IAPMO’s philanthropic arm) and deputy chair of the WPC. “The plumbing industry can alleviate water stress through improved water technology and a skilled workforce. We’re here to demonstrate it in real life.”
The Plumbing Champions initiative showcase retrofit approaches that advance energy efficient goals for the built environment: critical industry requirements set out in modern-day, international agendas such as the European Green Deal. The team will perform tasks including joining and bending hot and cold-water piping systems, installing cisterns and brackets for water closets and basins, and joining HDPE waste pipe. Participants will install plumbing systems designed by Geberit, a European leader in sanitary products working in partnership with the Frankfurt branch of Innung SHK.
“We see value in this program as a recruitment tool, it’s a good humanitarian effort for the community, and we are going to continue to do this at the next ISH two years from now, and we are going to do this in other places in the United States through the World Plumbing Council connections,” says Tom Bigley, Director of Plumbing, UA and chairman, World Plumbing Council.
The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) was pleased to have participated in the Plumbing and Heating event at WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition (WSC2022SE), Nov. 2-4 at GROHE Technikum in Lahr, Germany. The competition showcased national champions from 20 WorldSkills member countries. IAPMO CEO and World Plumbing Council (WPC) Deputy Chair Dave Read more
The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) was pleased to have participated in the Plumbing and Heating event at WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition (WSC2022SE), Nov. 2-4 at GROHE Technikum in Lahr, Germany. The competition showcased national champions from 20 WorldSkills member countries.
IAPMO CEO and World Plumbing Council (WPC) Deputy Chair Dave Viola relished the opportunity to present medals to the winning champions, concluding a thrilling three-day competition at the celebratory closing ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 5. Viola was joined by IAPMO Chief Administrative Officer and WPC Secretariat Gaby Davis, as well as IAPMO President David Gans and Vice President Steve Panelli, both experiencing a WorldSkills competition for the first time.
Plumbing and Heating competitor Florian Bliem of Austria captured the gold. Joint silver medals were awarded to Tom Pean of France and Marton Offner of Hungary, and the bronze medal was won by Tai-Yu Chen of Chinese Taipei.
Dave Viola
Indicative of the high standard of this year’s long-awaited, rescheduled competition, six additional entrants were awarded medallions for achieving a final assessment above WorldSkills’ benchmark for excellence: Sangyeop Kim (Korea), Saku Hurtig (Finland), Luca Herzog (Switzerland), Connor Cruden (United Kingdom), Fabian Grün (Germany), and Yuto Itahashi (Japan).
“What we are seeing today at WorldSkills is the best of the best, showcasing their skills and inspiring other people to do their best quality work,” Gans said. “We are looking at the future of plumbing, and plumbers. These are the young men and women who are going to take plumbing to the next level and help change the world.”
The event also showcased a new Plumbing Champions training activity, sponsored by the World Plumbing Council and delivered by the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH), charitable arm of The IAPMO Group. Three young students, accompanied by one mentor and one interpreter — all from Ukraine — were sponsored to participate in an educational workshop completing the same test project as was tackled in the WorldSkills competition, guided and supported by technical experts from IAPMO and GROHE.
Mayor of the city of Lahr Markus Ibert paid a special tribute to the Ukrainian group in his closing remarks.
“I would like to thank all participants who made this special event possible, and I wish you all the best for your ongoing life; success, and peace — especially to our guests from Ukraine. To you, to your families and your neighbors, have a good time, in peace, and with benefits, for a good life.”
The biennial WorldSkills international competition returns in September 2024, where it will be hosted in Lyon, France.
For more information about WorldSkills, visit https://worldskills.org/.
San Antonio, Texas — The co-conveners of the 2020 Emerging Water Technology Symposium (EWTS), which was scheduled for May 12-13 in San Antonio, have postponed the event and tentatively rescheduled for next year, May 11-12, 2021. “This change was necessitated after thoughtful consideration of the growing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said IAPMO’s Peter DeMarco Read more
San Antonio, Texas — The co-conveners of the 2020 Emerging Water Technology Symposium (EWTS), which was scheduled for May 12-13 in San Antonio, have postponed the event and tentatively rescheduled for next year, May 11-12, 2021.
“This change was necessitated after thoughtful consideration of the growing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said IAPMO’s Peter DeMarco, the event’s lead technical organizer. “The health and safety of our attendees, presenters and staff is, of course, our highest priority.”
The decision to postpone the symposium for a full year was made in consideration of other co-convener sponsored technical events that remain scheduled in 2020. Organizers recognize this change may not work for all attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and speakers. Accordingly, all registrations will be fully refunded and all hotel reservations that were made under the EWTS room block will be automatically canceled. Registrants should receive a cancellation notification from the hotel.
Organizers will be reaching out to sponsors, exhibitors and speakers in the days ahead and will work closely with all parties to help determine their plans for the rescheduled EWTS.
“The postponement is especially disappointing to the organizing technical committee when considering the amazing program that was on tap,” DeMarco said. “Our registration numbers were by far the highest ever and the event was well on the way to selling out. We will work hard to generate the same level of excitement for the 2021 EWTS.”
Co-convened biennially by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), and Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI), in cooperation with the World Plumbing Council (WPC), EWTS is designed to provide a portal for the host organizations’ partners in the manufacturing, engineering and trade industries to display and demonstrate their innovative solutions to legislative and regulatory developments that often alter industry landscapes.