As many other production sectors, the lifting systems sector has been affected over the last few decades by a progressive expansion of the European Union competences in defining the regulatory framework in which companies operate.
This process reached its completion with Directive 95/16/EC of 29 June 1995 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to lifts, known as the Lifts Directive.
To effectively protect the interests of European small and medium-sized enterprises in the lift sector, Anacam has initiated contacts with trade associations operating in some European countries since the early 90's, with the aim of creating a representative body within the institutions of the European Community.
A first step was taken by joining EBC (European Builders Confederation) which immediately offered a deep-rooted presence at European level, a knowledge of the European system as a whole and, albeit in a parallel sector, a series of contacts and relationships in the vast world of European SME organizations.
It was also thanks to this political "springboard" that ANACAM began to work closely with NORMAPME, the organization that used to SMEs in the European standardization process. A collaboration that has resulted in the constant participation of an ANACAM expert in the meetings of the CEN / TC10 working groups.
Consequently, the conditions for setting up a new entity at European level have developed. In addition to having immediately united at national level with ANICA and Confartigianato, ANACAM has established a relationship of mutual collaboration and trust with two associations, the Belgian FAI and the Dutch NLB. Both are the expression of small markets where the market share held by SMEs is much lower than the Italian market. They are strongly motivated and cohesive in working to create, at the European community level, conditions allowing the preservation of the role of small and medium-sized lift companies.
The efforts of these associations resulted in the creation of EFESME in April 2005: the "European Federation for Elevator Small and Medium-sized Enterprises". The charter of the new federation was published in the Official Gazette of the Kingdom of Belgium on April 18, 2005.
EFESME today represents 14 national associations from 12 European nations and has established itself as the SMEs only voice in Europe operating in the lift sector, both with European institutions interlocutors - in particular the Commission and Parliament - and the European body of technical standardization, CEN, as well as with other associations representing the interests that revolve around the world of lifts.
EFESME adheres to SMEunited, the employers' organization that represents the interests of SMEs and craft enterprises at a European level. SMEunited is joined by 80 business associations from the member countries of the European Union which together represent more than 12 million companies and 55 million employees.
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