FEM was established in 1953 with two main purposes: (1) facilitating cooperation among materials handling manufacturers in Europe through their respective national committees and (2) creating state-of-the-art technical recommendations from the sector on the use of its equipment.
1993 marked an important change in FEM core activity with the establishment of the Internal Market (European Union) and the gradual increase in relevant regulatory requirements (firstly in the area of safety) originating from the EU.