ALM, KOBİ'ler için Sorunları ve EFESME'nin Rolünü Tartışıyor

Kuruluşlar, standartlar değiştikçe KOBİ'lerin karşılaştığı zorluklara çözüm bulmaya devam ediyor.

by Tihomir Dimitrov

The Bulgarian Association of Lift Manufacturers (ALM) was founded with a focus on mutual support and synergy among local lift companies in implementing European standards and norms, aiming to improve the business environment in the lift sector in Bulgaria and Europe. Additionally, ALM partners with various organizations and proven experts to enhance its professional competence and receive assistance in various situations.

SMEs and the New Approach

When the Council of Europe adopted the Resolution on the New Approach to technical harmonization and standardization on May 7, 1985, few imagined this would eventually require small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the lift sector to become as flexible and solution-oriented as they are today. The New Approach allowed companies with sufficient human and financial resources to continuously seek ways to optimize production costs while meeting the essential safety requirements of the relevant directive. Harmonized standards became non-mandatory, and companies unable to invest accordingly began facing difficulties in selling their products.

This fundamentally changed how manufacturers use and apply standards: from mandatory to merely recommended. Nowadays, standards are often viewed as design guidelines. This shortened the time to market for innovative solutions that differ significantly from traditional ones, giving businesses unprecedented freedom to innovate. Over the past 25 years, long-established technical solutions in lifts have evolved: machine-room-less lifts, alternative suspension systems, reduced rope diameters, friction pulleys, rollers and more.

Numerous changes in standards introduced new devices aimed at improving lift safety. Each change posed challenges for lift SMEs, primarily due to limited resources.

These innovations improved resource efficiency and energy use in final products. Despite the benefits, the New Approach and constantly changing standards have had a mostly negative impact on lift SMEs. Numerous changes in standards introduced new devices aimed at improving lift safety. Each change posed challenges for lift SMEs, primarily due to limited resources.

In this dynamic market, lift SMEs face constant challenges — not only from market realities but also from ever-changing technical legislation and harmonized standards. Lift SMEs are highly dependent on these changes due to their limited resources compared to large companies. Market research shows that lift SMEs lose market share to large businesses with each major standard change. This sensitivity suggests that technical standard changes have become a tool for market influence, shifting market shares and consolidating the lift industry. Thus, frequent changes in standards lead to financial losses for lift SMEs, including – but not limited to – the loss of market share.

EFESME’s Role in Today’s Realities

Al.M is an active member of the European Federation for Elevator Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EFESME), where we advocate for the interests of SMEs in the European lift industry.

In this context, cooperation with European partners plays a crucial role in strengthening the position of SMEs. In November 2024, a national training and forum under the auspices of EFESME and Small Business Standards (SBS) was organized at the Technical University of Sofia. The event brought together representatives of SMEs, the Bulgarian Standardization Institute, public authorities and European experts, providing a platform for direct exchange on standardization issues affecting the sector.

The training aimed to raise awareness of the role of standards in the daily activity of lift companies and to bring Bulgarian SMEs closer to European and international standardization processes. Particular attention was given to explaining how SMEs can actively participate in these processes, both at the national level – through the work of technical committees – and at the European level, where their contribution remains limited but essential.

Despite these difficulties, the event clearly demonstrated the interest of Bulgarian SMEs in becoming more involved in standard development.

The discussions also addressed recent regulatory and technical developments, including the new Machinery Regulation and updates to key EN standards, highlighting their practical implications for SMEs. This helped participants better understand ongoing changes and the importance of anticipating them in order to remain competitive. At the same time, the exchanges underlined several structural challenges such as language barriers, limited resources and the relatively small size of the national market, which can hinder more active participation in European activities.

Despite these difficulties, the event clearly demonstrated the interest of Bulgarian SMEs in becoming more involved in standard development. It also confirmed that targeted training initiatives, especially when tailored to national needs and conducted in a familiar context, are effective tools to support SME engagement and strengthen the link between national and European levels.

These exchanges confirmed the strong link between standardization and market realities for local lift SMEs, as well as the need to further strengthen their involvement in European discussions. The main challenge for SMEs remains the lack of human and technical resources to participate effectively in standard development at the European level, limiting their ability to promote their ideas alongside major market players.

As an EFESME member, Al.M believes that involving local experts will improve these processes. Moreover, such participation would protect the interests of equipment owners through EFESME's balanced and moderate approach. We are also convinced that national participation in European Commission working groups would have a positive effect and provide direct feedback from the real market.