Bruno Forzinetti has been appointed new President of ANIE AssoAscensori, the Association that, within Federazione ANIE, brings together companies that carry out the design, construction of systems and components, installation, repair and maintenance of lifts, goods lifts, escalators and moving walks, stair lifts and lifting platforms.

In keeping with the principle of alternating presidency, for the two-year period 2024-2026 Angelo Fumagalli (Schindler), who has chaired the Association for the past five years, is handing over the baton to a representative of SMEs.

Born in Milan in 1965, Bruno Forzinetti has in fact been a member of Forzinetti Ascensori (based in Bresso, in the province of Milan), the family business operating in the lift sector, of which he is the legal representative, since 1984.

Already a member of numerous committees and associations at a national level, since 2014 Forzinetti has been a member of the Steering Committee of AssoAscensori as President of ALMA (Association of Lift Companies), which has been a member of ANIE AssoAscensori since 2005.

Bruno Forzinetti

Angelo Fumagalli (outgoing President of Anie AssoAscensori) with Bruno Forzinetti, newly elected President of the association.

“I am proud to take on this prestigious position,” said newly-appointed President Bruno Forzinetti, ”and I hope to make an effective contribution in the coming years, continuing the initiatives that have distinguished the Association, with a view to programmatic continuity. Some of the association’s positions have been confirmed, opting for a streamlined and dynamic presidential team, allowing all the members of the Steering Committee and the Past President to be involved in specific institutional initiatives. In fact, it is undeniable that competence and experience can be winning allies to continue the work already started and to face the legislative and regulatory evolution underway and the new challenges related to the ecological and digital transition.”

The Association’s agenda for 2024 appears particularly full of appointments: first and foremost, the continuation of the dialogue with the Ministries on issues that are particularly dear to the sector and in which ANIE AssoAscensori is directly involved.

“I will undertake,” continued Forzinetti, “to tackle the institutional issues that have remained open, despite the commitment of all the association components. One above all is that of technical and fiscal legislation related to the removal of architectural barriers, in view of the important social value of widespread accessibility and the pressing need to ‘modernise’ the building and installation stock in our country.”

This is a very topical issue, as shown by an elaboration carried out by CRESME on behalf of ANIE AssoAscensori on ISTAT data. According to this study, published at the end of 2023 and about which Elevatori Magazine has written several articles, more than 770 thousand residential buildings with 4 or more floors are currently without a lift and only 12.6% of residential buildings with three floors above ground level have one installed out of a total stock of more than 12 million residential buildings. Moreover, where they do exist, more than 500,000 lifts were installed before 1989, when the first barrier-free legislation came into force.

Data show that more than half of the lifts in operation in our country are more than 30 years old and about 60% are not equipped with technologies that guarantee a higher level of safety for operators and users, just as they do not meet adequate standards of accessibility and comfort, particularly for the elderly and people with motor or visual disabilities. They also lack the most advanced solutions in terms of energy efficiency and digitalisation, weighing on consumption and not allowing, for example, remote monitoring and predictive maintenance. “These numbers cannot and must not leave us indifferent,” concluded the newly appointed President Forzinetti. For the next two years there is still a lot to do and our Association is ready to roll up its sleeves and take up this challenge.”