At its last meeting, the Executive Board of Confindustria recognised the constitution of the new national trade federation “Confindustria Ceramica e Laterizi”, which came into being as a result of the merger between Confindustria Ceramica and ANDIL, the Italian association of brick and roof tile manufacturers.  

The Federation was set up to facilitate operational relations and synergies between the two associations with a view to stepping up external promotional efforts in Italy and the European Community. Its objectives also include promoting the improvement and efficiency of its offering for businesses, by streamlining and optimising the services and resources available to member companies. In particular, the purpose of the new federation is to bring about major synergies in the many areas of shared interest (energy, environment, communication, studies centre, R&D, etc.) and representation at both national and international level, where the two associations belong to the same European federation. These synergies will be achieved at zero cost, and with no additional charges for members.  

With 445 member companies, representing some 40,000 employees, Confindustria Ceramica e Laterizi is a major player on the economic stage in Italy, and represents turnover in the order of 6.4 billion euro, of which exports account for almost 60%. These figures do not include the internationalisation of production, which relates to 19 foreign subsidiaries, employing a further 6,300 people and generating turnover of 875.5 million euro.  

The Chairman of Confindustria Ceramica, Franco Manfredini, who now joins the Executive Board of the new federation as Chairman, announced that: “The formation of Confindustria Ceramica e Laterizi strengthens the role and importance of these two key sectors in the national and international building industry. The creation of this new federation will enhance the capacity of Confindustria Ceramica and Andil to represent the legitimate interests of its member-companies to best effect”.

Catervo Cangiotti, Chairman of Andil, added: “I warmly welcome the decision of the Executive Board of Confindustria to recognise our new federation. At a time of serious economic crisis, alliances provide a vital means of improving services to members, and optimising running costs. This is the spirit in which we have formed Confindustria Ceramica e Laterizi, and we will work in close collaboration with our “parent company” Confindustria”.