President Panseri’s thoughts for 2023

Despite uncertainty in the demolition sector, EDA president Stefano Panseri is hopeful that the progress made in 2022 will continue.

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PHOTO: DESPE

My first year as president of the European Demolition Association (EDA) has officially begun, and I am delighted to give you a glimpse of my thoughts about the situation we are living in right now and how it may affect the demolition, decontamination and recycling (DDR) sector, writes EDA president Stefano Panseri.

This is a very important year for EDA, after the uncertainty of the previous years with the Covid-19 crisis, we are starting this one with hope and a great desire to be able to reach more people and launch more initiatives involved with the DDR industries.

The current economic situation has a direct impact on the sector and there is widespread concern on the demand side about rising interest rates.

This affects all of us, but it is very difficult to make in-depth analysis because every countr y has its own terms and is penalised or rewarded for local conditions.

For example, in Italy, which is mostly my field of work, we still expect stability in 2023. In this case, the local market – benefitting from strong European support and the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics that will be hosted in Milan – is already changing. Beyond this general feeling, in the first few months of the new year I believe we will enjoy the strong boost of the financial results of 2022, which were generally good.

PROMOTING COLL ABORATION

The return of face-to-face events is important and encouraging, and EDA will celebrate its annual convention in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 15 to 17 June. This type of event is key to promote collaboration between national associations, contractors and suppliers when facing the challenges of the market.

As for the second part of the year, it is more complicated to make a forecast given the uncertainty generated by different factors that remain unresolved – such as the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, the general increase in raw material prices and the limited availability and shortage of components.

This whole scenario of uncertainty plays an important role in relation to investors and their willingness to continue investing money.

I know it is complicated to anticipate but that’s why I would like to send a hopeful message to my fellow guild members and encourage them to keep supporting and promoting the demolition, decontamination and recycling industries in Europe.

Finally, I would like to wish colleagues in the industr y a happy new year and the desire to continue working together to add value, share best practice and promote our industr y across the continent. ■