+ The power of the ‘polder model’

in tiling, education, market penetration, Gerard Reus,product development and political lobby Chairman of BOVATIN

+BOVATIN: home base for tilers 5000 tilers, 500 tiling companies, 30 million square metres of tiling (less,

last years…),

Service organisation for 300 member companies & growing

19 international associated members (tile manufacturing, construction chemicals, import/export)

Lobby organisation, influencing politics through its ‘umbrella confederation’ covering all organisations of building companies, and through EUF, even ‘Europe’ (a little)

Board of directors

300 Member companies

19 contributing

associate members

Committees (education, marketing,

technique, …

+Why this ‘poldermodel’? It’s the dutch way to keep the flood out… always

works!

…Because tilers, sales organisations, tile- and building chemicals manufacturers can be more successfull when working together, creating knowledge & testing new materials (‘1 + 1 = 3’).

…Because only through its umbrella organisation ‘Aannemersfederatie’ (a federation of 18 building branche organisations) BOVATIN has a voice & influence in The Netherland’s House of Commons (‘Tweede Kamer’)

…Just like BOVATIN and your organisations, through EUF, have a voice in Europe,

…Just like EUF and Confindustria Ceramica can directly communicate with our members, on our yearly meeting.

+We’ve got results!

Our innovation project, is finished successfully, with all kinds of products & new production methods. Developing & testing!

The ‘BOVATIN Academy’, which is simply the sum of all training and instruction courses of BOVATIN and its associate members.

A lower tax percentage for renovation(!), together with the Aannemersfederatie

A promotional campaign, ‘Dutching’ the EUF-campaign, for which we are inviting the Confindustria to participate, so we can together ’seduce’ more people to choose tiles (and a fair share of that % will be Italian!)

And off course, we don’t forget to be what we are: a service organisation for our members!

+Innovation: showed you last year.

+

BOVATIN, tile and building chemicals manufacturers check each others’ training contents. Goal: one method of tile application, quality first!

Also BOVATIN, the manufacturers and the trading organisations contribute their knowledge to the educational program of the young tilers

Next step #1: getting more young people to choose tiling

Next step #2: promotional campaignfor young people: Tiling is a CAREER, not the end of it.

Next step #3: legally labeling the better craftsman!

+Pressure!

BOVATIN is not big enough to make a fuzz in the House of Commons. Our umbrella organisation, the Aannemersfederatie’ is.

So we have now 6% instead of 21% VAT on renovation.

…and members of the House of Commons now have a regular ‘entre nous’ with us. They know now there’s more than big building companies!

+Promotional campaign (website, ‘click’ with EUF-sites, flyer, etc.

www.meerwaardevantegels.nl

Aimed at the dutch consumer AND architect AND decision maker

Short & simple: the advantages of tiles

+Concluding…

We are and will be a service organisation!

…of tilers: developing, promoting, marketing, teaching and testing alongside sales organisations, manufacturers of tiles & building chemicals

…We are no politicians- but we achieve our goals in politics, thanks to our ‘umbrella organisations’

…But, although I think at the level of the EUF Technical committee we could be a little less ‘political’, I still think also on the EU-level the tiling branche is doing a great job!

+And… …sometimes we should ‘hit & run’.

Like several EU-countries do with the EUF-promotional campaign

In our ‘Polder model’’ we have to deal with water; rain and water damage is increasing, and so are insurance losses.

So, we send a press release to the Federation of Insurance Companies to lower the insurance costs for those who have tiles on the ground floor… thus promoting tiles for free in about 10.000.000 newspapers.