IIW History 1990-2015

with one of our Member Societies, a position which the IIW was once proud to boast about.’ 22 He finished in saying ‘…at such time we must ensure that relationships among individuals are strengthened and communications are maintained as effectively as possible’. To compound the issues that IIW faced, the year 1993 was one where a worldwide recession took place, which did have an effect on Annual Assembly attendance and on the Institute’s membership, with several countries in danger of having to forfeit this due to non-payment of membership fees. Despite IIW taking a strong stance and a liberal attitude, trusting that outstanding fees could

Raül Timerman

be recovered quickly, this state of affairs was to continue right through the 1990s with as many as 12 members having difficulty in payment of arrears. 23 The method of determining the payment of fees, based on the quantity of steel used on a pro-rata basis, was questioned in higher circles and started considerable debate. Some of the countries with high steel consumption rates were not necessarily among the wealthiest of countries. Timerman was also to comment on the additional cost of persons representing Member Societies at an executive level as well as those individuals attending Working Group and IIW Commission meetings. This, if anything, underscored the great strength of IIW in having, within its ranks, a diverse range of welding professionals who were willing to dedicate their time and effort in a voluntary way to advance the cause of welding technology and science. Timerman had a commendable attitude to his role as President 1993-1996 and understanding of the principles of governance. His first words to the Executive Council were ‘…remember you are here as Directors representing IIW and all of its membership and not your Member Society’. 24 Timerman did seek individual counsel with several members of the Executive Council on how best they could help IIW, with particular emphasis on regional development and the pursuance of a global education, training, qualification and certification scheme. Some of IIW’s longest serving members were close to retirement and a changing of the guard was contemplated in several key positions. Boyd, for instance, retired in 1990 after 42 years continuous service, the last 22 years of which were as Secretary General. Boyd was a man of great distinction and admired by those around him. He did not completely sever all connections with IIW and his immediate retirement was spent in writing the history of IIW, Joining Nations – A History of the International Institute of Welding 1947-1990 ,

TOWARDS 2000