EFESME Makes Progress Through VmA Partnership

Collaborations ensure elevator SMEs will find voice and fulfillment.

submitted by EFESME

EFESME, by its nature in the European Federation to protect and support lift small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), expresses the importance of representing the national association level and bases its structure and a good part of its activities on this effort. Collaboration with local national associations is fundamental to having direct contact with SMEs that favor further development of actions of the Federation, which works to ensure that the needs of SMEs are heard and achieve action.

To this end, EFESME always seeks new members to broaden its base and support and protect more SMEs across the continent. On the other hand, the Federation is constantly working with its members to develop and sustain a virtuous network that contributes, together with the European and international technical and political work of its experts, to creating an increasingly favorable and SME-friendly working environment.

Among its members, with whom the Federation continuously develops projects and collaborates in its various activities, EFESME knows it can count on the active and constant presence of VmA, Vereinigung mittelständischer Aufzugsunternehmen e.V., its German member. The association, part of EFESME since November 2006, represents lift SMEs on German territory, and is a valuable and active member of the Federation, providing input and ideas based on the factual experience of the German market, often a forerunner for many policies and projects. One example is the interest and activities carried out at the national level on digitalisation for lift SMEs.

In 2006, EFESME contacted VmA’s then-president, Wolfgang Bretschneider, to promote membership in EFESME.

European directives and standards have had great influence on the work of medium-sized elevator companies in Germany since the 1990s, and continue to do so. In addition, VmA considers the networking of medium-sized elevator companies across Europe and across national borders an important and useful factor for their wellbeing and activities. These were, and still are, the reasons that VmA decided to join EFESME, a decision that has brought great benefits and interesting developments for both sides, ensuring that German SMEs have the ability to make their voice heard in Europe and providing EFESME with the support of another national entity.

The year marks 15 years of collaboration and cooperation with the Germany: during these 15 years, in continuous dialogue with other members and experts, German colleagues have supported the Federation in developing its policies, and have provided information and interesting ideas for the development of articles, position papers and events to continue to study the elements and issues of greatest importance and interest for lift SMEs throughout Europe.

This cooperation continues steadily and has found a new way to manifest itself, leading to important results: the current VmA president, Ralph Kanzler, regularly collaborates on the internal activities of EFESME and, with the vice president of the Federation, Damyan Petrov of Bulgaria, manages and organizes the Federation’s Digital Working Group (WG). The WG, created at the behest of EFESME President Massimo Bezzi and driven by Kanzler and Petrov’s interest in the subject and awareness of its importance, meets at least three times a year. These meetings feature discussions among technicians and members about the latest digital innovations that may have an impact on the activities of lift SMEs. Thanks to these discussions, EFESME was able to, among other things:

Give guidance and ideas for the work of its experts within the WGs of ISO TC/178, especially regarding the WG12: Cybersecurity and the AHG-New Technologies;

Support the development of events such as the SBS Lift Seminar on the importance of cybersecurity in the lift sector (17 October 2019), the SBS Lift Forum on Digitalisation in the lift sector (23 May 2019) and the SBS Lift Forum on Digitalisation (18 December 2018), both of which brought lift SMEs closer to digitalisation;

Identify possibilities and challenges for lift SMEs to develop a policy position on the most important discussion tables.

The good relationship between the two associations was also represented by Petrov’s participation in the 35th General Assembly of VmA last March in Prague: the event, the last held openly before the outbreak of the pandemic, presented VmA members with various activities, shared a detailed update on the Federation’s ongoing projects and policies and offered attendies discussion opportunities.

Starting from the positive results of the proactive Prague meeting, EFESME thanked VmA for its cooperation and numerous inputs and proposals over the years. Confidence in the stability of this good relationship, should, in years to come, convince VmA and its experts to be increasingly involved in the Federation so as to count on their experience to achieve more and more positive objectives for all European SMEs.

EFESME also hopes to send a positive message to all its members and the European lift SMEs that, together, are successfully and satisfactorily represented. The Federation’s activities will continue to work to ensure even stronger and more present support to its members. Counting on the direct participation of its members, their associates and experts, and SMEs, EFESME feels it is poised to achieve more and more important results to protect the sector.