The cleaning and hygiene industry’s qualifications and credentials remain largely unrecognised. That was the unanimous call of leading industry executives participating in Pulire Forum, held late March in Milan, Italy.
The two-day event brought together more than 340 delegates from all over Italy. They represented companies in the services provision (37 percent), manufacturing (23 percent), distribution (17 percent), associations (15 percent) and communications/media (8 percent) sectors.
Two studies, by Coesis Research, were presented for the first time. They were on ‘the drivers of choice in the allocation of services of cleaning and hygiene’, and ‘the legality perceived among the Italian population and among operators in the sector’.
Those studies will provide ‘elements for the development of a common strategy in order to give the sector the attention it deserves’, noted Pulire Forum organiser, Afidamp Services.
‘The needs for rationalisation and innovation, development and rule of law were highlighted and reaffirmed the common cry against the public procurement with the lowest financial offer.
‘The focus was to promote the respect for the rule of law at all levels, from the allocation of contracts to the controls on the phases of execution, to the rules on the job.
‘Forum Pulire highlighted the need for greater communication between the world of companies and institutions, to reverse the trend of recent years of crisis,’ said the official release.
Trends observed included the ongoing increase of Italian exports; the opportunities that innovation creates; and the critical role that distributors play as the vital link between manufacturers and end-users.
“Forum Pulire was reconfirmed as the meeting point for excellence among all the players in this sector. It 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, CEO Afidamp Services.
“The fact that all the major companies in the industry were present and that the industry associations have actively contributed to the success of the event is only the confirmation of the need to share problems and solutions.”
AfidampFAB president Matthew Marino commented, “We are particularly proud of the success of this year’s Forum Pulire, which has shown that there is a real need to create a system, a word too often abused in Italy but very little yield effective and updated. 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 recognized for our value and we do not want to be perceived as a sub-skill, low-relevance sector.”
While AfidampCOM president Francesco Bertini added, “We firmly believe that events such as Forum Pulire represent a turning point for an industry that needs to communicate on the inside, with institutions, with public opinion. Many topics were discussed, each of which deserves to be developed in-depth course.”