To celebrate our 45th anniversary, we are excited to take a trip down memory lane with our members, remembering the origins of EGMF and acknowledging how we have evolved and arrived at where we are today.
We spoke with Fabio Ricci, Deputy Director General at FederUnacoma and Chair of our Technical Committee, to hear his thoughts on how our Federation has evolved!
What is your company’s mission?
FederUnacoma groups the associations of manufacturers in the field of machinery, equipment and technology for agriculture, gardening and green keeping and related components with the aim of promoting technological innovation, business culture and increasing the presence in the international markets. The Federation advocates for its members on policies and critical issues to help its members in facing challenges.
When did you become involved in EGMF?
FederUnacoma, through Comagarden – the Association representing and supporting the national industry of machinery and equipment for professional and hobbyist greenkeeping – joined EGMF at the end of 2006. The main drivers of becoming a member of EGMF were to be part of a wider network at European level and keep a closer relationship with the European Institutions and lobbying for the main technical regulations affecting the garden industry. In addition, one of the main objectives was to promote within the Federation a more representative statistical system for the memberships’ benefits.
How does EGMF help you to achieve your goals and support your mission?
Through the continuous update of discussions at European level regarding technical legislation and the possible impact on the garden industry, FederUnacoma is able to transfer this information to its members and gather a position to be shared within EGMF. Lobbying and building a relationship as one unified voice towards the European Institutions is more effective.
How have you seen EGMF and the industry evolve over the past years? What key change have you noticed?
EGMF became a structured and reliable entity capable of being up-to-date and able to adapt to changes, that is crucial to achieving positive results. Continuous improvements on the statistical survey and almost daily updates on technical issues bear witness to it. The industry has actually noticed that and the number of members has increased over the years.
What do you see as the biggest challenge and opportunity for the industry today, or in the near future?
The environmental and sustainable aspects will be more and more relevant for our industry in the coming years, together with economic and social ones. Implementing new strategies and ways to reduce the footprint of all operations in companies, as well as in the finished products, is essential to address sustainability concerns. Sustainability-oriented companies are more resilient compared to their competitors and more attractive towards present and future generations.
Where do you see EGMF’s role in helping your company to address these challenges and opportunities?
The latest technologies in digitalisation and solutions for fostering the ecological and energy transition are quite vital to respond to environmental and sustainability issues and EGMF’s role is to monitor the discussion at the European level and share it internally for the members’ benefit.
In an ideal world…teaching gardening from primary school and throughout education is a great and wonderful opportunity to learn respect for the environment and personal growth. In addition, it can be a way to teach subjects such as science and mathematics. Gardening conveys important values such as responsibility, kindness, patience, self-confidence, respect for the environment and others.
Find out more about FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association here, and you can read about the history of EGMF here.