On the occasion of the Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, June 27^th, EFESME wants to take this opportunity to celebrate and highlight the fundamental role that MSMEs play in the economic fabric of the continent, as well as the constant and only commitment of the Federation to protect and defend European lift MSMEs, their needs and their interests.

EFESME with all its members is proud to declare that the European Federation has been successfully representing for many years the lift MSMEs without any conflict of interest, and that its aim is solely and exclusively their representation and protection. The Federation proudly recognises the importance of lift MSMEs for the sector and its economy, as they represent the overwhelming majority of the companies involved in the sector, both in terms of maintenance and installation of complete lifts  and in terms of production of their specific components.

The EFESME Members, representing 14 European states spread across the continent, and the Federation as a whole also want to underline on this important occasion their firm intention to continue to be the voice of the European MSME lift industryvis-à-vis the political, legislative, and regulatory Institutions within the European Union and abroad, in the arenas that matter, and with the most different actors, and to fight the fundamental battles to ensure the prosperity and success of lift MSMEs across the continent and beyond.

The Board of Directors and the EFESME General Meeting took place on Monday 15 June, via remote due to the current situation.

During the meeting, EFESME members planned the future activities of the Federation in support of European SMEs and stressed the importance of continuing to be active and committed both at European and international level, both in technical and political activities.

The collaboration with the European Commission and SBS – Small Business Standards, as well as with other important stakehodlers in the sector, has been highlighted as extremely important. The members were very satisfied with the way the activities were carried out and the positions taken, and renewed their commitment to support more and more European SMEs.

The day also included a public session, which allowed the Federation to present its activities, events and initiatives to guests, SMEs and stakeholders alike.
During the public session, EFESME members and experts were able to illustrate the technical activity carried out in recent months, the events organized and future events, demonstrating that the Federation’s activities have continued despite the limitations imposed by the crisis.

The last EFESME General Assembly and Board of Directors took place on the 17th of October at the Messe Augsburg premises, in Augsburg, Germany, during the Interlift Fair.

During the meeting, the representatives of the several National Organizations that are member of EFESME had the opportunity to be updated in more detail on the latest technical, normative and policy activities carried out by the EFESME experts in the second half of 2019, with the support of various members depending on the various projects. The members also discussed the way forward for 2020 and beyond, including new working groups and projects to increasingly involve the members and the national realities in EFESME’s work, through events and seminars.

Once again, a particular special place in the discussions was left to Digitalisation, the topic that has been studied by EFESME over the last year. Both members and experts agreed on the ever-growing importance of this phenomenon. For this reason, they decided to continue to study it in depth to understand the needs of SMEs in this sector and with regard to cybersecurity, so as to provide SMEs with the tools, the skills, and the knowledge needed to work at their best and remain very competitive in the market. Several national realities have been cited as examples of how SMEs are reacting and riding this phenomenon.

Regarding what EFESME is doing on digitalisation and cybersecurity, the members have expressed their appreciation for the steps taken so far and for the activities planned for the future, including the organization of forums and seminars, the writing of articles and position papers, and the attendance to meetings related to these two important phenomena.

The appreciation of EFESME members for the activities carried out in recent months is further confirmation that the path outlined in December 2018 by the President, to analyse these phenomena, has proved to be not only a successful choice, but a decision with important positive repercussions on the daily working life of SMEs.

The members also remarked on the importance of the collaboration between EFESME and the European Commission, which enables EFESME’s experts to be the successful voice of lift SMEs at European level, with very favourable and long-lasting results.

Likewise, the members express their full belief in and support to the collaboration between EFESME and SBS, a collaboration that, in the past four years, has allowed the Federation to be able to count on further valuable support in its work to defend SMEs, their interests, and their originality on the market. EFESME and its members hope that this excellent collaboration can continue in the future, in order to achieve ever better and more ambitious results.

On Monday 8 July 2019, EFESME participated in the 1st International Lifts Technical Meeting event organised in Sofia by its Bulgarian member, the Bulgarian Association of Lift Manufacturers – BALM.

This event was a perfect first opportunity for EFESME to get to know the Bulgarian lift industry in person and on the ground, thanks to the efforts and commitment of Mr Damyan Petrov, co-founder of BALM and Vice-President of EFESME.

The day started with the welcoming speeches by Mr Evgeni Kasabov and by Mr Damyan Petrov, who briefly introduced the two associations to the public, explaining the importance of the day as the creation of a first bridge to link the European and Bulgarian realities, to allow the creation of a positive collaboration for the benefit of Bulgarian SMEs.

Mr Massimo Bezzi, President of EFESME, took then the floor, and he spoke at length about what EFESME is and what it does thanks to its members, its experts, and its staff. Both the technical and the political activities were explained into details, to give the best possible overview of the Federation to the participants of the event. EFESME’s participation to the activities of CEN and ETSI, at the European level, and of ISO, at the international level, have been highlighted to illustrate how the activities of the Federation and its experts with regard to standardization are numerous and pervasive, so as to be able to better protect and support the SMEs it represents.

EFESME’s collaboration with SBS – Small Business Standards and with SMEunited were an important part of this speech, too. Explaining EFESME’s activities within these two European associations showed how the Federation is active and present from both a technical and a more political point of view.

Download – President Bezzi’s speech

Download – Supporting PPT

Regarding SBS, Ms Elettra Bilibio, the EFESME Advisor, explained the importance of the collaboration between this association and EFESME. Actually, many of the technical activities followed by EFESME are possible thanks to the support and the resources made available by SBS, which in turn is supported by the European Commission in its work to protect SMEs in the field of standardisation. These activities, such as the participation to the relevant technical groups, the organization of forums and seminars, and the writing of articles and position papers, among other things, allows EFESME to make the voice of SMEs heard in Europe, and to support them, their instances, and their work at best.

Download – Supporting PPT

The third speech was by Mr Luciano Faletto, Secretary General of EFESME. This was the most technical part of the event, and Mr Faletto, thanks to his years-long experience in both the lift industry and in the standardisation environment, focused mainly on the concept of lift modernisation. Mr Faletto referred to the EN 81-80 standard (Lift upgrades for existing lifts) and gave a detailed background explanation to enable participants to understand what this standard was based on. The modernisation of existing lift systems and their safety are two topics that the Bulgarian lift industry is very keen on, and Mr Faletto’s speech aroused a lot of interest and curiosity, despite the complexity of the topic.

Download – Supporting PPT

The public, which included not only many SME owners, but also representatives of the government, the university sector, and the Bulgarian Standardization Institute, among other things, was reactive and interested in what was being said, paying particular attention to the presentation of SG Faletto on the modernisation of lifts, asking for practical examples to be provided. Then SG Faletto explained how the Italian Standards Organisation, UNI, developed with the support of the local SMEs, a very important series of Technical Specifications (UNI 10411-XX) which give guidance on how to implement modifications to existing lifts in order to make them better suit their customers’ expectations, while improving also their existing level of safety. SG Faletto proposed to favour a contact of the Bulgarian SO with UNI to facilitate the preparation of a similar series of TS focused on the needs of the Bulgarian market of existing lifts.

The last EFESME General Assembly and Board of Directors were held on June 19^th, 2019, at the Confartigianato Imprese premises in Rome, on the kind invitation of President Bruno Venditti.

During the meeting, the representatives of the National Organizations member of EFESME discussed the numerous technical and political activities carried out during the first half of 2019, and expressed full satisfaction for what has been achieved so far thanks to the work of the EFESME experts.  Moreover, the members shared the President’s ambitious vision for the future, and full optimism for the projects that will be developed in the coming months

A special place in the discussions has been given once again to Digitalisation, which will be the leitmotif of this year’s activities and for the near future; the members have expressed appreciation for the actions taken in this direction, including the organization of the SBS Lift Forum of May 23^rd on the opportunities and risks created by digital means, and the next SBS Lift Seminar, which will take place in Augsburg on October 17^th, during the Interlift fair.

The importance of the collaboration between the European Commission and EFESME was stressed once again, a conviction supported by the European institution’s participation in EFESME events, and by the good relationships between its officers and EFESME experts, which is the basis for the excellent results achieved.

Likewise, considering the excellent quality of the work done with SBS in the past years and during 2019 so far, the members expressed their hope that this collaboration will continue successfully in the next years, a commitment that EFESME makes to its members, in order to meet their expectations and defend their interests in the best possible way.

EFESME and its members thank Confartigianato Imprese, its President, and its staff for the very appreciated invitation and for the exquisite hospitality in Rome.