Events

On the kind invitation of VNEA and of its President Mr. Nguyen Hai Duc, EFESME President Massimo Bezzi attended the 2023  edition of the Vietnam Elevator Expo (VEE) to represent the Federation. The fair and its events took place in Ho Chi Minh City from 7 to 9 December, and saw a series of activities organised to allow international guests to get to know the exhibiting companies, and to allow them to present their products and work to an audience that was not only Vietnamese.

President Bezzi (2L) attending the ribbon cutting ceremony with, among others,
PALEA President Graham Worthington and VNEA President Nguyen Hai Duc
©VNEA

After attending the opening ceremony of VEE 2023 with the ribbon-cutting ceremony and visiting the trade fair, President Bezzi had the opportunity to participate in a panel where he spoke about the sustainable development trend of future lift industry, and how this topic is being addressed in Europe and what impact it could have on the European lift industry and its SMEs.

President Bezzi spoke about the major policies currently being developed and implemented within the European Union with regard to sustainability, in view of the Green Deal supported by the EU Commission. He spoke about the new Eco-design for Sustainable Products Directive and why lifts are not and should not be included in the eco-design policies; the Digital Product Passport, its potentialities and its challenges; and the Right to Reparability, of great importance for lift SMEs and SMEs and consumers in general. 

President Bezzi on stage during his speech ©VNEA

For EFESME, VEE 2023 was an interesting opportunity to meet and learn more about a reality beyond Europe. The Federation thanks VNEA and its President for the invitation, and for the opportunity to meet colleagues from the sector and another part of the world.

For more information on the VEE 2023 and the future activities of the Vietnam Elevator Association VNEA: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As part of the work EFESME develops together with SBS - Small Business Standards to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the lift sector in Europe, a study was developed this year to understand what the criticalities in the application of EN 81-20 & EN 81-50.

The EN 81-20 and EN 81-50 standards are the two main standards for the European lift sector, so it is crucial to understand where the main difficulties and criticalities lie for lift SMEs in applying them in their daily work, and which points cause the most difficulties for the companies using them – such as the availability of the special tools and of the instruction for use.

The objective of this study is therefore to create a summary document that is the right tool to highlight this issue and raise the awareness of the stakeholders involved (European Commission, ESOs, notified bodies, ...), in order to provide a factual and informed basis on which to intervene in a future on the problem.

The data to compile this study were collected by consulting EFESME members and the EFESME netwrok, in order to obtain responses from different countries, so that they are representative of the reality of lift SMEs in Europe. All the information was then analysed by the EFESME Team in order to be compiled into a final document easily accessible and useful for the future work of EFESME and SBS technical experts on these two crucial standards and for all the SMEs the Federation represents.

• Find the SBS Study here

This SBS Study is part of the activities developed by SBS - Small Business Standards and EFESME to support European lift SMEs in standardisation, to inform and train them, and provide them with information useful for their daily work and knowledge.

On 5-6 December, EFESME participated in the 2023 edition of the International Elevator and Escalators Symposium, which this year was held in the prestigious setting of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The EFESME team was present in both a technical and political capacity with Vice-President Petrov, experts Ivan Ferrarini and Paolo Tattoli, and Policy Advisor Elettra Bilibio as co-host.

During the second day of the Symposium, the EFESME experts Ferrarini and Tattoli had the opportunity to present the position paper written for the occasion on the topic of circular economy in the lift industry from the perspective of European SMEs. They spoke about the EC New Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) and the sustainable principales, as well as the impact of circularity in the sector and for lift SMEs and the crucial role of Digitalisation and of the new Machinery Regulation.

Later the same day, Vice-President Damyan Petrov participated in the closing panel on the role of digitalisation as a tool for sustainability in the vertical transport industry. In this context, Vice-President Petrov spoke about how standards and the related harmonisation efforts at the EU level can contribute to the successful integration of digital solutions for sustainability in the vertical transportation industry, a topic of present-day importance.

The event, organised by ELEVATOR WORLD Inc. and Liftinstituut, was a great success and allowed participants to exchange views and discuss the role of sustainability and digitalisation in the vertical mobility industry from different perspectives. 

EFESME would like to thank its colleagues from ELEVATOR WORLD Inc. and Liftinstituut for the welcome invitation, the EFESME Team for their excellent work, and the whole audience for their participation and many interesting discussions during the two-day event.

Untill the next time with many ideas, news, and food for thought!

For more information on the IEES 2023 and on next year IEES 2024: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On 20 October, during the Interlift exhibition, EFESME and ELA-EEA signed a joint statement on safety in the lift sector.

Envisaging a series of future actions to support and strengthen safety in the lift industry for all parties involved, the two associations state that:

"[...]
Safety being the core value, both organisations decide to focus first on the safety of the workers in the elevator industry and, more specifically, the safety and well-being of the workers involved in the installation and maintenance of lifts.
Both organisations are making all their resources and skills available to improve the sector's prevention and safety culture and reduce accident rates in the industry.
Workers' lives and well-being are above the interests of companies and organisations, so the duty to safeguard both lives and well-being must always be present.
[...]"

 For more information, please contact the EFESME Secretariat - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Within the framework of the VfA Forum, the continuing series of conferences that take place every two years during the international Interlift trade fair, the SBS lift Forum 2023 was an opportunity to meet not only European lift SMEs, but also representatives from other geographic areas, including outside Europe.
Aptly named Small Business Special, the SBS Lift Forum 2023 opened the conference kermesse on the afternoon of 17 October, providing an excellent start to the event.  After the opening speech by EFESME President Massimo Bezzi, the SBS Lift Forum revolved around four presentations dedicated to European lift SMEs, their role in European standardisation, and how this is evolving thanks to new or revised standards, and the new Machinery Regulation. 

The first presentation, given by Andrea Raffaelli, standardisation officer and experts coordinator at SBS, not only gave an overview of the many activities developed by SBS and EFESME in support of European lift SMEs, but also presented the work of the technical experts in the lift sector in the various working groups. The importance of this presentations was reinforced by the fact that a large part of the audience present has never been directly involved in any European activities ragarding standardisation, so this was a very valuable stage and opportunity to raise awareness of the various projects and groups followed by EFESME and SBS together.

Presentation: European lift standardisation and the role of lift SMEs 

  More info 

The SBS Lift Forum then moved to Mr. Paolo Tattoli, technical expert in EFESME and expert and convenor in several CEN TC 10 WGs at the European level and in UNI at the Italian national level. Thank to his relevant experience in the standardisation field, Mt. Tattoli was able to give a detailed presentation of these two standards, their development process along the years and their content.
These two standards are relevant not only for the lift industry as a whole, but especially for European lift SMEs, which are the main players in the elevator platform and related market. The presentation was essential and clear in order to give up-to-date and easily applicable information for everyday work and future changes thanks to these revised and new standards.

Presentation: The revised prEN81-41 and the new EN81-42

  More info 

Mr. Esfandiar Gharibaan, the Chairman of CEN/TC 10, took then the floor to present the content of the brand new Machinery Regulation, publish this summer. The publication of the new Machinery Regulation will have a strong impact on the entire lift industry, and therefore the need arose to organise a panel dedicated to this important piece of EUropean legislation, in order to present it in the best possible and clear way. 
In a specific yet practical way, Mr. Gharibaan outlined the most important aspects of the text and the changes it introduced, and how they will impact the industry. His presentation was and will be fundamental to allow lift SMEs to have a tool tailored to them to understand the major novelties of the new Regulation and future standards based on it.

Presentation: The new Machinery Regulation: Novelties and perspectives in standardisation 

  More info 

Finally, the presentation given by Mr. Luca Incoronato, Managing Director of ANACAM, one of the Italian members of EFESME, not only illustrated the issue of the operation of lifting platforms without carrier doors, the position of the European Commission on the matter, and the current situation in Italy for the lift SMEs involved in and interested by this, but also led to a lively dialogue with the audience that allowed for a comparison of situations also in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. Once again, a practical aspect explaining an issue in a simple and straightforward manner proved to be an excellent way to compare different situations and points of view within the same sector in Europe.

Presentation: The European Commission's position on the operation of lifting platforms without carrier doors and the impact on the Italian market 

  More info 

As in its previous editions, the SBS Lift Forum confirmed itself again this year as a valuable opportunity to meet and discuss various topics directly involved in and part of European standardisation. This is a topic that is not always simple and not always easily accessible for the European lift SMEs that EFESME represents in Europe also with the support of SBS, and therefore the meetings and events organised together acquire ever greater importance for all the stakeholders involved.
On this specific occasion, the SBS Lift Forum was especially important because it presented important innovations from the standardisation point of view that will have a direct impact on the European lift sector, and on some parts of it in which lift SMEs are directly involved and protagonists.

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE!

EFESME wishes to thank SBS and its representative for their cooperation, the speakers and experts for their participation in this year edition of the SBS Lift Forum, and the public for their precence and lively discussions during the event.

We are looking forward to meet you at our next events and activites!

Join us for the 
SBS Lift Forum 2023
SMALL BUSINESS SPECIAL event
at the VfA Forum in Interlift, on October 17, 2023

 On the occasion of the international Interlift fair, which will be held in Augsburg from 17 to 20 October, the SBS Lift Forum will be held for the first time within the framework of the VfA Forum, the series of ongoing conferences on the lift sector that animate the exhibition trade fair.

The SBS Lift Forum, aptly called SMALL BUSINESS SPECIAL given its vocation entirely dedicated to SMEs in the lift sector, will touch on some elements dear and fundamental to these crucial market players:

• The role of European SMEs in standardisation processes
• The impact in the new Machinery Regulation and what to expect from European standardisation in this regard
• The revised EN 81-41 and the new EN 81-42, and their evolutionary process
• A very interesting case study on the Italian reality regarding lifting platforms

We look forward to seeing many of you to open the first day of the VfA Forum together!

Contact the EFESME Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for any questions you may have on the event.

EFESME newsletter #1/2023

EFESME newsletter #2/2023

Article written by ANACAM - Find the original piece here

During the 52^nd ANACAM National Assembly, which took place in Milano Marittima from 15 to 17 June, ample space was dedicated to EFESME and its activities in Europe and around the world at a technical, political and regulatory level with contributions from Federation President Massimo Bezzi; Elettra Bilibio, EFESME Policy Advisor; and technical experts Ivan Ferrarini, Marco Cogliati, Tiziano Caresani, and Paolo Tattoli.

President Bezzi reflected on how much the scenario has changed in the last twelve months, which were marked first by extreme confusion due to the problems arising from the fluctuation in raw material prices, then by a frenetic recovery to make up for lost time with a strong increase in sales thanks also to investments in various countries to support the recovery of the markets. Today the sector faces further challenges at both European and national level, Bezzi explained, such as the dramatic shortage of skilled labour to produce, install, and maintain the lift systems. Using the labour available on the market, with little or no experience or expertise, is likely to increase workplace accident statistics. During a recent meeting with the representative of the large companies ELA-European Lift Association, EFESME's counterpart, accident statistics were presented with data from 15 countries for the years 2021-2022. In the two-year period under consideration there were 22 deaths in the lift industry. In 2022 alone, more than 710 accidents between installation and maintenance can be counted; more than 50 per cent of these are due to improper use of the tools available or incorrect procedures on the part of technicians. Now more than ever, resources must be dedicated to adequate information and training across the board. This was also one of the objectives EFESME set itself in its 2019-2024 Manifesto, published to coincide with the European Parliament's five-year term.

COLLABORATIONS WITH EFESME MEMBERS

The Federation has participated in two FEPYMA events to talk about the elimination of architectural barriers and to try to support sector-specific economies at the local level. The first event took place in Tenerife in November 2022 while the second was held in Seville in May 2023. On both occasions, representatives of institutions at local, national and European levels were involved. At the European level, FEPYMA has become an extremely active member of EFESME with top quality projects.

INTERLIFT

One of the projects EFESME is carrying out with ANACAM is the collective pavilion in Augsburg at the trade fair from 17 to 20 October. The aim is to involve SMEs within a common European context. At the German fair, on the afternoon of 17 October, the SBS Lift Forum will be held within the VFA-Forum to talk about the new versions of EN 81-41 and EN 81-42, the new Machinery Regulation and its impact on the sector, and light curtains on platforms with automatic manoeuvring.

COMMUNICATION

The magazine Elevator World Europe is the official publication of the Federation and offers the opportunity to publish articles on the products and activities carried out by the SMEs that are members of EFESME's member associations. Over the past year, EFESME's technical experts have been involved in the various ANACAM territory meetings and have been able to inform about the results of the technical activities carried out in the working groups.

ACTIVITIES IN EUROPE

EFESME carries out both political-institutional activities and purely technical and standardisation activities, supported by and in support of different entities: from the European Commission itself to ELA, SBS-Small Business Standard, and SMEunited. During a meeting with Frauke Hoss, from the European Commission-DG GROW H.2, EFESME had the opportunity to present its instances in the technical-normative field, during a meeting attended by technical experts Ivan Ferrarini, Paolo Tattoli, and Luciano Faletto. EFESME responded to the consultation opened by the European Commission on Ecodesign by reiterating its conviction that lifts cannot be included in the Directive on the basis of the difficulty of classifying them in a simplified manner as is the case for other products that have fewer variables. Another activity that is being carried out with ELA concerns the activity of the technical group within the World Escalator Elevator Forum, the Federation of lift associations at global level created a few years ago. At the end of May, a webinar was organised that confronted three completely different but interconnected realities such as Europe, the United States and India through their respective associations EFESME - NAEC - EECMAI, which discussed the main industry standards.

ACTIVITIES WITH SBS AND SMEUNITED

Regular meetings are organised in cooperation with SBS to coordinate the various activities. The SBS Lift Forum 2022 addressed the topic of special tools and instructions for use, and their availability at the installation; it was also emphasised that their absence poses a problem for SMEs, for the safety of installations, and for the protection of consumer interests.

EFESME also participates in several internal cross-sectoral working groups to identify common policies on which to involve members and experts. Last year, at the suggestion of ANACAM, a study was developed with Giuseppe Iotti and Luca Incoronato on national initiatives regarding the modification of existing installations. It came to the conclusion that a European standard in this regard, although desirable, could be counterproductive due to the different national situations in place, and that therefore the solution of European guidelines seems more suitable.

A new questionnaire will be sent to all EFESME members to collect opinions on the application of EN 81-20 and EN 81-50 and to identify critical issues.

For activities with SBS, at ISO, CEN and ETSI level, EFESME can count on the support of five experts for 2023: Luciano Faletto, Tiziano Caresani, Marco Cogliati, Ivan Ferrarini and Rocco Iacchetti. Also joining the EFESME family is Paolo Tattoli, who will support and complement Mr Faletto's position and gradually replace him in the ISO area.

SBS, just as it did for FEPYMA, is available to meet all SMEs in the territory in an attempt to try to bring them closer and closer to the world of standardisation, which is certainly not a simple topic.

SMEunited represents around 12 million small enterprises in various sectors at European level. EFESME has been a member since its foundation. Politically, it is an excellent reference even though recently there seemed to be an intention to set aside the sector-specific activity in favour of the development of wide-ranging horizontal policies. Nevertheless, during the June meeting in Stockholm, a desire emerged for a continuation of the political protection of associations representing specific sectors.

DIGITALISATION

EFESME started to study this topic in 2018 addressing it from different perspectives: digitalisation, cyber security, the role of European and international standardisation, smart lifts, not least the impact of BIM. Within the Federation, a Digital Working Group is active, which also has the task of collecting requests from national members.

At the end of President Bezzi's speech, the new video made to present EFESME's activities was screened.

• Read the original article in Italian here
• Read more about the ANACAM National Assembly here (in Italian)