Combined gala dinner proves that two into one sometimes doesn’t go.
Picture the scene. The European Demolition Association (EDA) has just completed the opening day or it’s well-attended and informative Autumn Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Meanwhile, delegates and representatives the Drilling and Sawing Association (DSA) have emerged from the opening day of the first-ever DEMCON exhibition that is being held next door. The bar of the Infra City hotel is packed and it’s four deep at the bar; surely the perfect backdrop for a convivial, combined gala dinner; a meeting of minds in which representatives from both sectors could come together over some Swedish cuisine.
Sadly, things didn’t turn out quite like that; in fact, the apparent inter-industry animosity left some members of the EDA stunned.
Depending upon your viewpoint, the seating plan was either relaxed or chaotic, resulting in members of both groups being sat tooth by jowl. But within minutes of sitting down and initial introductions being made, EDA members were left amazed and angry after being told by a very senior member of the DSA that demolition contractors were little more than “a bunch of gypsies”.
A little later, the same individual described the demolition industry as “Mickey Mouse”, and not in a way that was intended to suggest the happiest place on Earth. Another then added that, to the drilling and sawing sector, demolition contractors meant credit checks because, supposedly, this industry never pays its bills.
Perhaps the harshest criticism, however, was the suggestion that “any idiot can demolish a building”. The irony of this was that just a few hours previously, the EDA had been debating the need for a licensing scheme to ensure that NOT just any person can demolish anything.
The fact that these views came from a senior official of an international trade association is disappointing in the extreme; equally disappointing is the fact that these views were aired in a forum that numerous people had worked long and hard to organise in order to fuel discussion and mutual understanding and appreciation.
But the lasting feeling is that by calling into question the professionalism and integrity of their fellow industry in such a crass, unwarranted and public manner, the individuals involved merely underlined their own lack of professionalism and social grace.
