Rules of the Association

Rules of the Association

Section 1

NAME AND REGISTERED OFFICE

The name of the Association is Puunjalostusinsinöörit – Träförädlingsingenjörerna – Finnish ForestProducts Engineers’ Association r.y. and its registered office is in Espoo.

 

Section 2

LANGUAGES

In conducting its activities, the Association can use Finnish, English, and Swedish.

 

Section 3

PURPOSE AND ACTIVITIES

The purpose of the Association is to promote and support the professional skills of its members and to promote the development of the forest cluster as a whole by connecting professionals in the forest industry and related industries.

 

To fulfil its purpose, the Association

  • seeks to make the industry more attractive
  • influences university-level education relating to the industry and arranges in-service training
  • arranges meetings, conferences, and presentations
  • produces publications
  • gives out grants and awards
  • cooperates with other similar associations

 

Section 4

MEMBERS

The members of the Association may be honorary members, annual members, permanent members, student members, invited members, or corporate members.

The decision to admit new members and to expel existing members shall be taken by a meeting of the Association as proposed by the Board of the Association.

 

Section 4.1

HONORARY MEMBERS

At the unanimous recommendation of the Board of the Association, the Association may invite persons to become honorary members. Honorary membership may be awarded in recognition of work of outstanding merit on behalf of the Association and the industry.

Honorary membership is conferred by a meeting of the Association, if necessary by ballot. In such cases, the Board of the Association’s recommendation must be supported by four-fifths (4/5) of the votes cast at the meeting. 

Section 4.2

ANNUAL MEMBERS

A person may, upon application, be admitted as an annual member of the Association, provided that he/she holds a university-level degree or similar and is engaged in work requiring the skills and knowledge acquired in the industry as specified in Section 3.

A person applying for annual membership must receive the unanimous recommendation of the Board of the Association and the approval of a meeting of the Association.

The Association may also admit as an annual member a person from outside the industry mentioned, provided that he/she holds the required personal qualifications and that such membership will otherwise promote the Association or support the Association in fulfilling its purpose.

Section 4.3

PERMANENT MEMBERS

Annual members who have been members of the Association for a minimum of 20 years shall, upon retirement, become permanent members of the Association.

Members who retire from work shall retain their existing membership of the Association unless they become permanent members.

Section 4.4

STUDENT MEMBERS

Persons who have studied for a minimum of two years at an educational institution mentioned in Section 3 may, upon application, be admitted as student members of the Association. Persons who have been student members shall, upon obtaining their degree, become annual members at a meeting of the Association.

Section 4.5

INVITED MEMBERS

The Association may invite a person in a prominent position who does not otherwise qualify for annual membership to become an invited member. The services or activities of the body headed or represented by the person in question must be of particular value to the activities and development of the industry as specified in Section 3; alternatively, such membership must otherwise greatly promote the Association or support the Association in fulfilling its purpose.

Section 4.6

CORPORATE MEMBERS

An incorporated society whose activities fall within the industry specified in Section 3 may, upon application, be admitted as a corporate member of the Association. Each corporate member shall have the right, together with annual members, to propose new annual members to the Association.

 

Section 5

RESIGNATION AND EXPULSION

Any member wishing to resign from the Association must provide a written notice of their resignation to the Association’s Board or its chairman. Members may also announce their resignation at a meeting of the Association. Such resignation shall take effect from the first day of May following the announcement to resign.

A member resigning from the Association shall pay his/her membership fee up until the end of the membership fee payment period. The Association’s membership fee payment period runs from 1 May to 30 April.

The Association may expel any member who has failed to pay his/her membership fee for two (2) years.

 

Section 6

MEMBERSHIP FEES

Honorary and invited members shall be exempt from annual membership fees.

Other members of the Association shall, with the exceptions stated below, pay an annual membership fee, the amount of which to be decided by the Association’s Annual Meeting. The fees for the different membership categories shall be independent of each other.

Annual members shall pay the full membership fee for the year in which they join if their membership begins in the first half of the year, otherwise half.

Members having retired and members having become permanent members in accordance with Section 4.3 shall be exempt from paying the annual membership fee from the beginning of the next membership fee payment period.

The annual membership fee to be paid by corporate members shall be determined by the turnover of the corporation having its registered office in Finland.

 

Section 7

ANNUAL MEETING

The Annual Meeting of the Association shall be held in Finland before 31 May each year. The meeting shall adopt the following procedure

  1. opening of the meeting
  2. election for the meeting of a chairperson, secretary, two scrutinizers of the minutes, and, if necessary, two vote counters
  3. declaration that the meeting is legal and constitutes a quorum
  4. approval of the agenda for the meeting
  5. presentation of the Association’s annual report of operations
  6. presentation of the Association’s accounts and statement by the auditors
  7. adoption of the accounts
  8. granting freedom from liability to the members of the Board of the Association and other accountable persons
  9. adoption of the annual membership fees
  10. appointment of committees, forums, and other bodies
  11. election of
  • the chairperson of the Board of the Association
  • the vice chairperson of the Board of the Association
  • chairpersons for the various committees and other bodies
  • other Board members, who together shall form the Board of the Association
  1. election of auditor to audit the Association’s accounts and administration, and one deputy auditor
  2. election of fiduciaries for the Association
  3. handling of any other matters put forward by the members of the Board of the Association or members of the Association. To be considered for discussion, such matters shall be presented to the Board of the Association in writing no later than thirty (30) days before the date of the meeting.

 

Section 8

OTHER MEETINGS

The Association shall also convene when considered necessary by the Board of the Association or if requested in writing by at least one-tenth of the Association’s members to address a specified matter. In such cases, matters to be raised by individual members shall be submitted to the Board of the Association as prescribed in Section 7.

 

Section 9

CONVENING A MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION

A meeting of the Association shall be convened by the Board of the Association, which shall notify all members of the Association either by letter or by e-mail no later than fourteen (14) days before the date of the meeting.

 

Members may participate in the Association's meeting by mail or through a telecommunication connection or other technical means during or before the meeting, if so decided by the Board or the Association's meeting. The decision may also concern only a part of the matters to be discussed at the meeting.

If participation in the meeting is possible by mail or through a telecommunication connection or other technical means, this must be mentioned in the meeting invitation. Additionally, the meeting invitation must specify if the speaking rights of a member participating by mail, telecommunication connection, or other technical means are restricted.

 

Section 10

VOTING

Honorary, annual, invited, permanent, student, and corporate members shall have the right to vote at meetings of the Association. Corporate members shall have only one vote each, irrespective of size.

All voting shall be open, unless a closed ballot is requested.

Unless stipulated otherwise in these Rules, issues shall be decided by a simple majority of votes cast.

In the event of a tie, an election shall be decided by lot. In all other cases, the chairman’s vote shall be decisive.

Members who are absent from a meeting shall have the right to vote by proxy. A member present at the meeting may exercise the right of proxy of one member only.

 

Section 11

BOARD OF THE ASSOCIATION

The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Board comprising a chairperson, vice chairperson, and members, the total number of members of the Board of the Association thus composed being no less than five (5) and no more than twelve (12). Members of the Board of the Association shall represent themselves but shall be drawn as equitably as possible from companies and other organizations within the industry.

The Board of the Association shall have a quorum when the chairperson or vice chairperson and four members are present.

The Board of the Association shall convene when the members are notified no later than seven (7) days before the meeting.

At meetings of the Board of the Association, each Board member shall have one vote. Issues shall be decided by a simple majority of votes cast. In the event of a tie, the chairperson’s vote shall be decisive.

Decisions taken by the Board of the Association shall be communicated to all members of the Board.

Members of the Board of the Association and the Association’s fiduciaries shall be elected for one year at a time.

Section 11.1

DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF THE ASSOCIATION

It is the duty of the Board of the Association to implement the Association’s decisions, to manage the Association’s business and financial affairs, to promote the Association’s activities, to safeguard the Association’s interests, and to oversee compliance with these Rules.

The Association’s operative activities are managed and decisions taken by the Board are implemented by the President. The President shall be appointed by the Board of the Association. The President shall attend Board meetings in the capacity of a presenter.

The Board of the Association shall appoint from among its members for one year at a time an Executive Committee to prepare matters for discussion and to handle day-to-day affairs. The Executive Committee shall comprise the chairperson and vice chairperson of the Board of the Association, the President of the Association, and either one or two Board members.

The Board of the Association may appoint committees, forums, and working groups to prepare and handle specific tasks and may appoint their chairpersons.

The Executive Committee, other committees, forums, and working groups shall be subordinate to the Board of the Association.

 

Section 12

COMMITTEES, FORUMS AND OTHER BODIES

The function of committees, forums, and working groups shall be to promote the purposes of the Association in their own areas of expertise by working independently and under the scrutiny of the Board of the Association.

 

Section 13

SIGNING THE ASSOCIATION’S NAME

The Association’s name shall be signed by the chairperson, vice chairperson, a Board member, the President and any other person authorized by the board, always two together, who shall sign both their name and their position within the Association.

 

Section 14

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

It is the duty of the Nominating Committee to prepare nominations for consideration at the Association’s Annual General Meeting.

The Nominating Committee shall comprise the three previous chairmen of the Association and the present chairman unless decided otherwise by the Annual General Meeting.

The Association’s chairman shall convene a meeting of the Nominating Committee, which shall appoint from among its number a chairman for the meeting.

 

Section 15

ACCOUNTS AND AUDITING OF THE ACCOUNTS AND ADMINISTRATION

The Association shall close its accounts at the end of each calendar year. The accounts, together with all necessary documentation and the annual report of operations by the Board of the Association, shall be submitted to the auditor no later than three (3) weeks before the Annual General Meeting. The auditor shall submit a written statement to the Board of the Association no later than one month before the Annual Meeting.

 

Section 16

AMENDMENT TO THE RULES

Amendments to these Rules may be made at two meetings of the Association, separated by at least one month, one of which shall be the Annual Meeting. For these Rules to be amended, the proposed amendments must be supported at both meetings by at least three-fourths (3/4) of the participants having the right to vote.

 

Section 17

DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION

Dissolution of the Association requires a majority of seven-eighths (7/8) of the votes cast by participants at two consecutive meetings of the Association separated by at least one month. On dissolution, the assets of the Association shall be used for research and training in support of the development of the forest cluster.
 

Section 18

RIGHTS OF MEMBERS TO BE RETAINED