The First Congress that brings together the visual communication industry from France, Italy and Spain was held in Barcelona on March 10 and 11, at the Confortel hotel. The event, called Southern European Print Congress 2015, was organized by Fespa France, Siotec Italia and Fespa Spain. The congress combined training on the latest market trends with networking spaces in the international arena, as well as the exhibition of success stories, which in practice can function as a development reference for attendees.
Up to six success stories included the first international event that specifically intertwines the visual communication industries of France, Italy and Spain. The generation and presentation of these successful references was carried out by Colorful, Pixartprinting, ATC, Iruña Comunicación Textil, Masserdotti Group and Sundisa.
Some of the presentations had titles as suggestive as "The experience of textile customization", or "The importance of vision and technological innovation". The six cases were disseminated in the two days that the congress covered, which was focused on functioning as a sort of showcase for the most inspiring and successful experiences that are being generated in the sphere of influence of the three organizing entities: Fespa Francia, Siotec Italy and Fespa Spain.
A round table: 'The wow effect of printing in Southern Europe', allowed to know first-hand the impressions of the general secretaries of these associations about how the market is. In its development, the General Secretary of Siotec Italia, Enrico Barboglio, pointed out the importance of “sharing experiences” and “managing market niches” in his country where, he said, it is essential “to satisfy the basic needs of the client ”And manage orders“ in a very professional way ”.
For his part, the Secretary General of Fespa Spain, Pablo Serrano spoke of the importance of companies being "facilitators of visual communication" and that the market be served "correctly", stimulating it "with innovation and creativity". Marion Ferhat, General Secretary of Fespa France, defined the French market as "very competitive", while pointing out that "there is a very important number of screen printers" and that the key to being competitive in it "is in differentiating itself from the competition ”.
One of the great added values of the event focused on its business tables. A dynamic and productive format for the exchange of key information to generate business called Speedy Meeting, in which attendees had the opportunity to create business through quick one-to-one meetings, in which they could produce quality contacts for future alliances and synergies with representatives of other countries.
At this point, it is relevant to note the fact that the event also featured a Portuguese company, Colorful, which is a joint venture that mixes the talent of several entrepreneurs from different countries. Carla Costa, International Business Manager of this company, highlighted the strengths added by the different nationalities present in her company; with a special mention for the solvency of German technology or communication and information technologies provided by the Danish side, among others. For his part, the Sales & Marketing Director of Pixartprinting, Andrea Pizzola, pointed out the personalization of the web pages in which they operate in each country as their greatest added value, while stressing the importance of “understanding the end customer” based on the mentalities and cultural patterns of each country.
Another of the event's strong points was its conferences and round tables. In them, the visual communication market of the competing countries was analyzed and keys to business development were presented.
