ENTREVISTA / INTERVIEW
.OUT./OCT. | 16
support of NERLEI and membership of CELMA (Federation of National Associations of Luminaires and Electrical Components Manufacturers in the European Union) “helped the interests of AIPI, which became an active voice in Brussels and began to be known in Europe and international markets".
It was with some emotion in his voice that Mr. Modesto Castro thanked us for the invitation to the interview and congratulated us for these 25 years of existence. He was immensely grateful for being integrated into this association and for being part of its history. Regarding the question raised, he said that “our intention was to add value to the group and to all those involved, as well as to bring internal benefits”.
But after all, what were the real difficulties that the sector was going through?
Like Mr. Castro said, “the biggest difficulties to date were related to the fact that there is no know-how in the export of products. It was rudimentary and with the creation of this Association, the companies together managed to take a step forward in this matter”.
In full agreement with this view is Mr. José who also adds “the lack of a market, as we were all very dependent on the national market, and the lack of technical and regulatory knowledge. There was still a lot of difficulty in preparing catalogs and fairs”. He also added that there was no CE Marking as we know it today, but the EN598 standard. It was at the beginning of 2000 that CELMA managed to create the CE Marking, a European mark.
It was also important to understand, in the eyes of each one, whether the creation of the Association brought the necessary impetus for the growth of companies in the sector and what changed from that moment on. Both were peremptory, the Association was and continues to be fundamental. Alone, the companies did not obtain the knowledge, nor did they participate in fairs, and the Association helped in these areas. Mr. Castro adds “exhibitions at international fairs have helped to boost and promote the brands and all national producers. Nowadays, people around the world observe and recognize not only the quality, but also the design of the national product. More and more Portuguese design is seen with notoriety”.
Mr. José was President of AIPI between 1997 and 2003, first President, and as you can imagine, the challenges were many and the motivation HUGE.
" Iremos manter-nos activos, resilientes e a reestruturar estratégias de sucesso "
"Both were peremptory, the Association was and continues to be fundamental."