ItaliaEleva 2015

Synergy recreates a fair dedicated to the Italian elevator sector.

ItaliaEleva 2015 took place on June 18-20 on the premises of Le Robinie Golf Club & Hotels in Solbiate Olona, not far from EXPO Milano in Milan. This initiative was promoted by the Italian national associations representing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the lift sector: ANACAM (Italian elevator association), which represents around 400 enterprises in Italy, and ANICA (Italian elevator components association). This synergy recreated a fair dedicated to the Italian elevator sector, a real exhibition that had been missing for a long time. This formula was launched in 2014 and proved to be a winning one.

Indeed, as pointed out by ANACAM President Michele Mazzarda, the intent was to create a unique event able to bring together all involved parties in the industry and share a message of unity among Italian forces. It was an occasion to give life to new interactions. The combination of organizing the exposition together with participants’ respective national assemblies created interest from the very first moment. Attendees had the opportunity to not only visit the exhibition spaces, but also to participate in the work of their associations. The floor provided a setting on which to present the news on regulations and discuss and analyze issues related to the industry. However, Mazzarda wanted to emphasize how this meeting was not linked only to work in the traditional sense and to institutional moments, but also to convivial meetings during dinner or at a golf tournament.

In a few days, ItaliaEleva managed to bring together the entire elevator world: in addition to the sponsoring lift associations, there was Assoascensori (representing multinational companies), Confartigianato Ascensori, the representatives of the administrations of buildings and representatives of Europe’s Notified Bodies.

All participants had significant feedback about this joint initiative. Organizing a fair was definitely not easy, but the forces of the two major industry associations in Italy helped overcome the difficulties. The many participating companies shared an area of approximately 600 m2, within which there were about 1,300 companies and visitors.

The working days involved technical experts, such as President of the Lift Technical Committee of UNI Paolo Tattoli and European experts involved in European Committee for Standardization and International Organization for Standardization activities, Giuseppe Iotti and Luciano Faletto, respectively. During the work, there were contributions from the representatives of building owners, as well as from Mr. Correggia, a representative of the Italian Ministry.

The new standard EN 81-20/50 was one of the topics covered by the technical experts, in addition to the future economic situation when considering the new scenarios the standard may present. Particular attention was paid to safety, with the presentation of a new book edited by Tattoli and Iotti. The publication was strongly backed by Mazzarda and the Governing Council. The text was delivered to all participating companies and sent to those who were not present. The book illustrates how much ANACAM is concerned about safety at work and that it always seeks to provide its associates with tools to operate according to the regulations.

For what concerns the European scenario, representatives of the European Federation for Elevator SMEs (EFESME), your author (its vice president) and Giuseppe Iotti (its secretary general), traced the activities conducted during the last year. They presented a report with the support of a detailed description of what took place in the Brussels office.

To widen the audience of visitors, EFESME decided to hold its general assembly in Solbiate Olona, as well. This meant a further opportunity for members of the various European countries to meet the components producers of the industry. The days of work and the meetings in the exhibition space certainly helped create greater dynamism and aggregation in a difficult time brought on by the decrease in new installations. ANICA President Paolo Vicini confirmed after the event that approximately 50 exhibitors had already requested information for new participation in 2016. This iteration is to be held in Rome in June. Moreover, many requests from foreign companies were also submitted. The format for the next edition is to create a main event in Rome or Milan during the even-numbered years, and a rotating location according to the will of the associations during the odd years.