ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

More than 340 delegates from Italy's cleaning sector met in Milan recently for a two-day conference organised by industry body Afidamp - Forum Pulire.

Despite the fact the industry is composed of more than 23,000 companies and employs 500,000 people with a turnover of 11 billion euros, it does not receive the recognition it deserves in the country as a whole - attendees heard.

The need for rationalisation, innovation, development and rule of law were highlighted by the speakers. And in public procurement the key challenge is still the trend towards lowest bid.

Speakers called for better communication between companies and public authorities in order to reverse the recent years of crisis. Late payment by public authorities is still the source of many problems for cleaning companies and product distributors alike.

"Forum Pulire was an opportunity to qualify everyone's expectations and identify a line of discussion for the development of the entire market," said Toni D'Andrea, cep of Afidamp Services. "The fact all major companies in the industry were present and the industry associations have actively contributed to the success of the event is further confirmation of the need to share problems and solutions."

"This year's Forum Pulire has shown there is a real need to create a system, a word too often abused in Italy. The work carried out in recent months with trade associations has shown that the industry is ready to be heard. We are preparing to be recognised for our value and we do not want to be perceived as a low skill, low relevance sector, "said Matthew Marino, president of AfidampFAB.

www.afidamp.it