NEWS

On 17 April, Sebastian Baars (Vaku-Isotherm) was elected as a new board member at the GSH general meeting in Lüneburg. He will represent the VIP product group, which has grown significantly following VIPA’s joining at the start of the year.

We would like to thank Mr Baars for his willingness to serve on the GSH Executive Board and look forward to working with him!

The 2026 general meeting took place in Lüneburg on 16–17 April. It was attended by 58 participants from seven different countries. Before the main general meeting began on Friday morning, the GSH Executive Board, the association’s committees, the individual product groups and VIPA held their respective meetings.

These were very intensive days featuring constructive discussions, fruitful conversations and fascinating insights into the historic Hanseatic city of Lüneburg. The combination with the VIPA annual general meeting further enriched the event.

We are already looking forward to the 2027 general meeting, the date and venue of which in Lüneburg have been announced:

GSH general meeting 2027:

29–30 April 2027

Freistadt (A)

On 26 February 2026, GSH received accreditation from the German Institute for Constuction Technology (DIBt) as a supervisory and certification body for german approval category Z-23.12 “core insulation”.

This expands our range of services in the field of building regulation and, particularly for members in the EPS sector, offers the opportunity to streamline supervision by consolidating certification tasks.

At the start of 2026, VIPA (Vacuum Insulation Panel Association International) joined the Güteschutzgemeinschaft Hartschaum (GSH) and will henceforth operate as a subsidiary organisation of the GSH.

We are delighted about this collaboration, as it will reactivate the VIP product group and greatly enrich our association’s activities.

VIPA’s joining has increased the membership by 14. Furthermore, the GSH’s international reach – extending beyond the borders of Europe – has been significantly expanded once again. The GSH now also has members in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, China, South Korea, Israel and the USA.

Our Annual general meeting took place in Maranello (I) on 15–16 May.

A total of 44 participants attended in person.

The usual programme of product group meetings, committee meetings and the general meeting was this time complemented by a visit to the Ferrari Museum and a very pleasant evening together in the grounds of a palazzo outside the town. We were able to have many good conversations and enjoy Italian cuisine together.

The next general meeting will take place in April 2026 in Lüneburg.

At the end of 2024, Stephan Schöne stepped down from the GSH board as he left the member company. We are delighted to have secured Klaus Köhler as his successor.

As Head of Application Technology at Hirsch Porozell GmbH, he will henceforth represent the EPS product division on the Executive Board. His involvement in the IVH ensures even closer cooperation between the two associations, which we very much welcome.

We look forward to working with him!

This year’s general meeting will take place in Italy:

GSH – general meeting 2025

15–16 May 2025 – Hotel Maranello Palace

We are delighted to be able to welcome our members back to Italy after 13 years. As well as the familiar topics relating to insulation technology, this year we’ll also be exploring Italian sports cars and the local cuisine – we can’t wait!

At the end of December, Stephan Schöne was dismissed as a member of the GSH Executive Board.

He had represented the EPS product group there since 2022. From 2025, he will no longer be working in the insulation industry and must therefore also resign from his position on the GSH Board.

We would like to thank Stephan Schöne for his commitment to GSH and his dedication to the Board.

On 28 August 2024, the DIBt published the current edition of the Model Administrative Regulation Technical Building Regulations (MVV TB 2024/1). The most important change for us is an amendment to section 1.4 in Annex 4. The restriction on the use of polystyrene in horizontal applications is now clearly limited to installation below ceilings. This - long-requested - addition will hopefully help to end the uncertainty among planners and building owners caused by ambiguous wording.

This year, our annual general meeting took us to Kassel. We spent two very pleasant days at the Schlosshotel Bad Wilhelmshöhe following the tried-and-tested pattern: meetings of the association's committees, product group meetings and the general meeting. In the evening, a guided tour of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe enriched the programme. Afterwards, we spent a great evening in the Herkulesterrassen restaurant with good food, stimulating conversations and a fantastic view over the city at night. Finally, a few brave souls made their way back to the hotel on foot through the dark park - another great experience! 

Our annual general meeting will take place on April 25-26, 2024 – this time in Kassel! We'll be staying at the Schlosshotel Bad Wilhelmshöhe. In addition to group meetings and the general meeting, we'll also take a hike through the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and spend an evening together at the Hercules Monument for discussion and enjoyment. We're looking forward to it!

The EPF trade fair took place in Feuchtwangen from 21 to 23 June 2023.

GSH presented itself on-site with a display of the RAL BEPS quality mark at its members' booths. The response was very positive.

This year, our general meeting took place in Utrecht. It was a successful event - after a tour of the canals, we celebrated the evening in the Stadskasteel and had a great time together with good conversation and delicious food.

The special atmosphere was enhanced by King's Day, which - by coincidence? - was celebrated on the day before the general meeting. The atmosphere was great and the entire city was decorated in the GSH color orange.

On February 9th, the german testing, inspection and certification bodies exchange of experience took place in Celle. The GSH had already invited the committee to Celle in 2021 and 2022 - however, these two meetings had to be held as web meetings due to the pandemic. This year it finally worked out. 12 participants discussed topics relating to testing, monitoring and certification.

After our plans for this year's general meeting were almost complete and we had been looking forward to seeing our members again for a long time, we were unfortunately forced to offer another online event due to the still high spread of the Covid-19 virus.

At its last meeting, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to forego an in-person event in May 2021.

However, the announced date for our general meeting remains:

Friday, May 7, 2021 - 9:00 a.m. (German speaking)

Friday, May 7, 2021 - 11:00 a.m. (English)

We will send the invitation with the link to the meeting and the necessary documents to the members in good time.

The Members' Meeting, which was initially completely canceled, will take place online this year.

On May 15, 2020, we invite you to an online presentation to inform our members and partners about the past year and, above all, about current developments this year despite the difficult circumstances.

The presentation will be held in German at 09:00, at 11:00 we will inform you in English.

The invitation and the link to the event will be sent to you by e-mail in good time.

Due to the current spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 in Germany and Europe, the board and the certification body of the GSH have decided to cancel this year's general assembly on 14/15. May 2020 in Utrecht.

The health of our members is very important to us. It is therefore out of the question to hold the event under the current health risks. With a heavy heart, we decided not to hold the event as a face-to-face event this year. We really regret that we also have to do without interpersonal relationships and personal conversations.

We will of course send you all necessary information about the activities of GSH. The relevant documents will be sent to our members - as planned - at the beginning of May or provided in the internal area of ​​the website.

It is planned to offer a web conference at the original time of the general meeting in order to be able to convey the results of the past year and the budget for the current year to you. We will send a separate invitation for this.

We wish all members, partners and friends of GSH that they and their families will get through the corona crisis safely and we are already looking forward to a healthy assembly in 2021.