ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Italian correspondent Anna Garbagna reports on a seminar organised by Afidamp recently.

Expanding a market is always interesting and the USA is an area of great interest for every sector. The important factor is to know regulations, habits and trading priorities. So, to help cleaning companies to orient themselves, Afidamp organised the conference ‘Doing Business with the USA: How to Access the American Market as Suppliers’.

As highlighted by Toni D’Andrea, Afidamp Servizi’s ceo, in the cleaning sector, the fall of Italian imports into the USA from 2004 to 2016 (from 30 per cent to four per cent) has brought to light the need to recover market share and visibility.

Paolo Ceresa, US business advisor at the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy,  gave an overview of the characteristics of the American market which tends not to be  homogeneous. He explained how it is possible to successfully tackle this market today - it is necessary to assess the different distribution channels, choose more distributors/importers for the different geographical areas, carefully assess the offering and adapt it to the market, and pay maximum attention to service and after-sale assistance. The time is right as there are incentives for anyone who decides to invest in the USA.

Andrea Rosa, the contact for SelectUSA in Italy at the American Consulate in Milan, said the USA is among the global leaders according to a number of indexes (loyalty indexes for direct investments, attractiveness for venture capital and private equity and for global competitiveness). For Italy and also in general, it is an important market, with over 325 million consumers and free trade agreements with nations that represent hundreds of millions more consumers.

Rosa pointed out many positive factors that can activate commercial relationships in the USA: from the presence of an excellent framework for companies who wish to do business, to the current industrial rebirth and the energy revolution which provides energy at ultra competitive prices. But it is necessary to invest in innovation, quality and safety and to focus on relationships between companies because the strength of the production chain can make the difference. In this regard ICE, a public agency which supports the presence of Italian companies abroad, has already planned some important activities with Afidamp to smooth the entry of cleaning companies.

Environment highlight

All this was explained in a more comprehensive way during the recent Pulire show in Verona. Pulire also highlighted the environment, with eco-sustainability and the circular economy, ecolabel certification and the value of recycled plastic. Furthermore, during the celebration of 25 years since the creation of the  ecological quality certification Ecolabel EU, the Italian branch Ecolabel Italia of the Committee for Ecolabel and Ecoaudit and Ispra - in cooperation with Afidamp - organised some activities to consolidate the certification. The Ecolabel EU scheme was also presented, with a special focus on an update of ecological criteria that concern the cleaning sector.