Introduction

Foundation

 

Following the foundation of FIDIC (Fédération des Ingénieurs Conseils) in 1913 the Hungarian associate federation under the name of Consulting Engineers’ Corporation was established in 1933. It operated under FIDIC guidelines until 1950 after which – like so many other international trade organisations in the contemporary political climate– our membership was terminated.

The issues that were then considered unnecessary, even terminable by the political system became urgently required again after the democratic changes of 1990: the spirit of fair competition and high quality performance needed re-introducing into engineering practice. In order to re-establish the globally enjoyed prestige of engineering and possess a complex, socially approved, technocratic approach in our country we needed independent initiative, a social dialogue and re-introduction of contemporary legal and economical knowledge.
The demand for the country-wide introduction of FIDIC’s contracted practice warranted the reinstatement of our association. On the 23rd of April 1992, the heir to TMT (Tanácsadó Mérnökök Testülete – Consulting Engineers Corporation), which was shut down in 1950, the Association of Hungarian Consulting Engineers and Architects (AHCEA) was established by 42 inaugural members. On the 3rd of June the same year, the association became a member of FIDIC at their conference in Madrid. Four years later, on the 14th of May 1996 the European European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) added AHCEA to its membership too.

The reason for our organisation’s remodelling did not lose its significance. On the contrary – since Hungary joined the EU – it became notably more significant. This is proven by the fact that our membership has been constantly growing throughout the years, and today we have over 120 members. FIDIC allows membership for individual companies and for companies with a legal status within its associate federations. In this spirit, AHCEA also offers the possibility of membership to those legal engineering offices, civil engineers and engineers whose primary income is derived from intellectual activities.
We believe that it is in the interests of the best consulting engineering companies to become an active member of AHCEA, whilst serving the important demands of our society regarding independent engineering services. We consider the validation of our members’ interest important, whilst satisfying, at the highest possible level, our customers’ demand for value performance.

 

FIDIC only accepts one federation per country as a legitimate member.

The Association of Hungarian Consulting Engineers and Architects has fulfilled this role over a period of eighty years.