José Antonio Díez Silanes, new President of AIAS, the Association of Surface Finishing Industries

Current Business Development Manager at CIDETEC Surface Engineering, he replaces Josep Maria Simó Consola in the position

José Antonio Díez Silanes, Business Development Manager of Technological Services at CIDETEC Surface Engineering, has been elected president in the elections for the renewal of the Board of Directors of the Association of Surface Finishing Industries (AIAS), held on 16th February, thus becoming the ninth president of the entity as his candidacy and that of his team was unanimously approved. He replaces Josep Maria Simó Consola, who has held the presidency for the last 8 years, with two consecutive terms of office.

The following team will accompany the current president: 1st Vice-President for Board Affairs and Promotion, Josep M. Simó of J. CLAPÉ, SA. Enric Esquerdo of TACSA-Tratamientos y Acabados por Cataforesis, SA and Enric Martínez of BOMBAS ESPECIALES TORRES, SL will renew their positions as 2nd Vice-President and Treasurer, and 3rd Vice-President and Secretary, respectively. The rest of the new Board of Directors is composed of the following members: Antoni Botifoll of AUJOR-CROMO DURO BOTIFOLL, SL, Alazne Chocarro of ANESDUR – Anodizados Especiales y Duros, SL, Benet Rins of TMI – Tractament Mediambiental Integral, SL, Carles Colominas and Francesc Montalà of FLUBETECH, SL, Gemma Moreno of ELECTRO-DUROCROM, SL, Jorge Rodriguez of CIDETEC, Juan Carlos Prieto of PLATING DECOR RECUBRIMIENTOS, SL, Mikel Sarasola of IKANKRONITEK, SL and Rosa Guerrero of CROMOZINC GUEMAR, SL.

José Antonio Díez Silanes, PhD in Chemistry from the University of the Basque Country, has 30 years of experience in research in the field of coatings and surface treatment. He has been with CIDETEC since 1997 and was Director of the Surfaces Division until 2016. He is currently Business Development Manager at CIDETEC Surface Engineering. His career is endorsed by his participation in different R&D projects, 2 patents, writing more than 40 scientific papers, directing 2 Doctoral Theses, as well as his participation in different committees and representations related to the field of surface treatments, Masters and Postgraduate Courses. For the last two years he has been a member of the Board of Directors of AIAS.

For José Antonio Díez, the new president of AIAS, “the composition of this new Board of Directors is a true reflection of the main objective set for the next four years of office: to ensure that each member reaffirms their sense of belonging to AIAS, so that they feel that their contribution is essential to the development of our association”. José Antonio also set other key objectives for the next four years, such as the training and participation of member companies in R&D projects, the broadening of AIAS’s horizons in Europe and the relationship with clusters and other associations. Finally, he highlighted the relevant role of AIAS in the revision of the BREF STM document, due to its importance and impact on the companies in the sector, committing to working on improving the loyalty of the current members and strengthening the association.