|
:::
New energy in HARD TIMES
by Chiara Merlini
-----------------------------------------------------------
The commitments
and initiatives
introduced by the
new AfidampCOM
Board ...
The first half of 2009 – annus
horribilis for the Italian
economy according
to the forecasts – has drawn to a
close and, with it, the year’s most
important trade fair for our sector:
Pulire Verona. During the fair
we looked at the current state of
affairs, considered new projects
and thought about future strategies. We also seized the chance to
meet Virna Re, the newly elected
President of Afi dampCOM – the
Italian association of distributors,
manufacturers and providers of
professional cleaning and ecohygiene
machinery, products
and services – to ask her how the
Association intends to act and
about its future projects and input for the market. We met her
at the Association’s head offi ces
in Milan, after a board meeting.
As a result, the Directors also took
part in the interview: a sort of
impromptu Round Table, airing
plenty of opinions, proposals
and considerations.
As the new president, can
you tell us what changes are
afoot within AfidampCOM?
Virna Re “AfidampCOM has
decided to make a few changes,
whilst still remaining true
to its original mission. The Board
of Directors has many “new
entries”, although by no means
new to the market. Professionals
committed to ensuring that the
Association evolves and continues
to serve its members, while
at the same time bringing their
own personal experience and
new ideas.”
Can you tell us about these
new ideas?
Virna Re “One of the new ideas
(though unfortunately not as
successful as we had hoped) was
to have taken part in Pulire with
a dedicated area for dealers. A
kind “Distribution Piazza”.
This would have been the ideal
moment to present a series of
events to involve the market, a
meeting place, the chance to give
visibility to the importance of
the dealers’ role. We therefore
intend to invest time and effort
in this, to be ready for next year’s
Pulire.”
AfidampCOM enters a new
era: what will be its first
moves?
Virna Re “We’ve already agreed
on two new projects. One will
be a re-launch of the Service
Charter, so that this becomes
the “Mark of Quality” for our
members. The other is the creation
of a Handbook entitled
Guidelines for Leasing. In fact,
everyone talks about leasing,
but very few really know much
about this subject, so we believe
it will be useful for our members
if we analyse the different
aspects to create new professional
skills.
The Handbook will be promoted
and presented during a
conference open to all members,
end users and trade associations.”
Stefano Grosso “The aim of
this project is to share with our
members the experience (tools
and professional skills) of those
offering leasing opportunities,
plus in-depth knowledge for the
end user of what leasing actually
means and involves.”
And the crucial aspect of
each association: what new
strategies do you propose to
attract new members?
Virna Re “There’s no getting
away from the fact that the
Italian business mentality is
individual-oriented. Italians are
independent by nature. Individual
companies are only willing
to make sacrifices if the benefits
arising from being a member of
an association are clear from the
out-start (such as legal advice,
technical support and so on), easily accessible and available at favourable rates. This means we
must have clear strategies, both
in the short and long run. In
terms of “short-term” strategies,
we are currently developing some
precise themes to make life
easier for dealers: we’re negotiating
with a company for a fleet
management application using
TOM TOM software (of great
interest for those offering assistance
and always on the road);
we’re also evaluating the feasibility
of access to a database – via a
company belonging to the CERVED
Group – in order to create
a client solvency information
system.”
Roberto Galli “We want to
adopt a new approach with dealers,
by “listening” to their needs.
We’ve found that dealers don’t
always appreciate just what the
Association can give them. In
fact, AfidampCOM can be the
perfect solution when it comes
to interpreting the market, as it
provides a valid link between
production and the end user.”
Visibility is a key problem.
As is communication…
Virna Re “We’re committed to
giving the Association a strong
image. In order to increase AfidampCOM’s
visibility among dealers,
we need to move within
a market that’s still made up of
hundreds of micro companies
(only a very few businesses manage
turnover of more than 10
million Euros).
Such small companies often
find it hard to dedicate the time
and human resources required
to many aspects of their
business, such as red tape, legal
issues, technical innovation and
organisational changes: that’s
where the Association comes
in. That’s why it’s so important
that companies understand just
what the Association does and what it can do for them, drawing
on its many different means and
resources.”
::: The new AfidampCOM appointments
PRESIDENT
Virna Re (Dierre)
VICE-PRESIDENT
Luca Mirandola (Pulimac)
Board of Director s
Francesco Bertini (Costanter), Vincenzo Grottoli (Igienpul), Andrea Cossu (Comark), Roberto Galli (Erremme), Stefano Grosso (ISC)
STATUTORY AUDITORS
Carlo Parma (Studio Corno-Parma) President, Luigi Gemelli (Cedeap), Andrea Pezzotti (Puli center Tecno)
ARBITRATORS
Law. Vittore d’Acquarone (Law firm De Luca) President, Law. Fabrizio Salmi (Law firm Briola),
Law. Alessandra Zalamena (Studio Zalamena)
|
Another difficulty is the general
diffidence that leads
to closed minds, the “nongrowth”
of the sector…
Virna Re “It’s true that there’s
not a great amount of collaboration
in our world, otherwise
we could achieve some really
spectacular results. In order to
overcome this problem, we’d like
to create a few small Round
Tables to look at specific market
problems, so that – for once and
for all – all members are free to
discuss an issue without being
wrapped up in their own little
worlds. Excuse me for being so
frank.”
Roberto Galli “We are, by habit,
used to speaking in terms
of “brand”. Yet it is possible to
work equally well by replacing
this with the concept of “neutrality”,
i.e. the AFED “brand”(and
so break down resistance). If we
can “extract” experience from all
the components of the industry
(manufacturers, dealers and
firms) in a climate of neutrality,
then we’ll manage to create a
real culture of cleaning”.
What are your relations with
the other core element of
AFED, AfidampFAB?
Virna Re “We have several joint projects (such as those concerning
training) that we intend to
pursue together as a federation:
AFED is our contact on an institutional
level, while the goal
of disseminating the culture of
cleaning is the mission of all.
Our School Projects were born
under the aegis of AFED: unfortunately,
the fact that dealers are
generally small concerns is an
obstacle and so their participation
is limited.”
Vincenzo Grottoli “I find that
our visibility, as AfidampCOM,
is poor, even in joint projects.
I therefore believe that it’s important
that we re-affirm our
role.”
Francesco Bertini “With regard
to the financial wsupport
for these initiatives, AFED has
expressed its intention to provide
the necessary funding, provided
it finds the projects valid.”
Many issues to be faced as
the Association enters a new
chapter in its history. And
at a complex time for the
economy. We await developments…
Virna Re “There’s no doubt
that we are highly committed
and we need to act on various
fronts, but the Association is a
value in which we all believe and
so trust that all will cooperate,
keep an open mind and become
involved.”
|
Add your company to 
Keep up-to-date on latest developments with Dimensione Pulito International ...
Go to reserved area ...