Now that 2022 is coming to an end, it is time to express our seasonal greetings and to reflect on 2022.

Schneider Electric and Rexel joined as Global Industry Members

We were pleased that Schneider Electric and Rexel joined us as Global Industry Members to support our standardisation work, bringing the total amount of Global Industry Members to 6. Siemens, Sonepar, Prysmian and Grundfos had already joined us in 2020 and 2021.

ETIM xChange project started

This year we started to develop a new exchange format, based on what we learned by using the legacy format BMEcat, and the DICO product data exchange format. Using the experience and knowledge of the DICO standardisation team in the Netherlands. First kick-off was held online, and a follow up meeting in Paris. We are confident in the result, but quickly learned that we will need some patience and extra effort. To be continued in 2023.

New staff member added to ETIM International

After the position for an extra staffmember became available again, Jeroen stepped in to start his work as Community Director. “I started in June this year, I have quickly found my way into the community and the work to be done. Because Marc Habets and Karl Pappas had already started working on the release of ETIM 9.0, my focus was more involved around the promotional and communicational side as well as the new addition of Modelling Classes. I will continue to do this also in 2023 and beyond, but I hope to also add value to the many change requests concerning the ETIM basic model in the near future.”

First ETIM Forum held in Oslo

After two years of lockdowns and online meetings, we were finally able to meet again in person. And so we did for three exciting days in Oslo. We are very grateful for the positive feedback and for sharing your experiences on your social media. This keeps us highly motivated to do it again in 2023. Keep an eye on our news releases, more to follow.

ETIM 9.0 released

Earlier this month, ETIM version 9.0 was released. With 4879 change requests processed in 2 years time, the ETIM Model now covers 5554 different product classes. With this release, a new step towards quality product data was made. However we notice that changes in the market are increasingly speeding up, and a release every two years might not cut it in the future. The interest in the ETIM API and the use of dynamic releases is growing.

Changes in the board

At the General Assembly in Olso, Alexia Labezin was elected to join the executive board.  Simon Barkes was not available for re-election as president of ETIM. Just recently it was announced that Magnus Sirén will be his successor.

Outlook towards 2023

We have many things waiting to be announced in 2023:

• We are – as we speak – relocating our official office address to Margraten – the Netherlands.
• BuildingSmart is working on including ETIM 9.0 and Modelling Classes into bSDD. Soon to be announced.
• For ETIM Modelling Classes a new classification management tool was built and tested in 2022, soon to be launched to a greater audience.
• We are working on a new ETIM viewer that has an updated user interface and also incorporates Modelling Classes.
• New guidelines for Modelling Classes are in review and will be released early 2023.
• A new ETIM Forum will be organized in 2023. We hope all members of our community will join.
• As ETIM 9.0 is released, our Classification Management Tool is open for new change requests. So we are interested to see new proposals from all product working groups accross the globe.

But first..

We would like to wish all of you, and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. We are looking forward to making a difference in the digital transition of construction and technical industries together with you by providing a complete, easy to implement, practical classification system in 2023 and beyond.