THE Italian national Association of Amusement Suppliers Industry is now 25 years old – and still as strong and passionate as ever.

Despite the prevailing economical climate, the association’s membership continues to grow and currently stands at 50. It is the largest national association of amusement ride manufacturers in Europe and an example of Italian excellence, with creativity and passion at its heart.

Since its foundation ANCASVI has been active in a number of important areas relating to the industry, including safety. The pioneers of the Italian amusement industry met in 1986 and for the first time decided it was necessary to look for a common future and to see each other more as colleagues rather than competitors. This was a big change for those who had founded the industry in a country where strong passion and individualism form the basis of many “economic miracles.”

Since that time, ANCASVI has continued on its mission and is now managed by the second generation of Italian amusement ride manufacturers.

One of the main results of the organisation’s work at international level, of which it is very proud, has been its involvement in the preparation of the European standard EN 13814. The aim of creating an internationally recognised standard for the safety of amusement devices has been one of the main objectives of ANCASVI since its foundation and for 17 years it has supported the European secretariat of CEN/TC152 with considerable investment in proportion to the size of the association.

ANCASVI has always been convinced of the need for collaboration at a European level with other manufacturer associations. In 2000, ANCASVI invited the German association VDV to an inaugural meeting at Garda Lake and together the two organisations took the decision to start a new venture – the European Association Amusement Supplier Industry (EAASI).

Other associations subsequently joined this new group, including AFFFEL (France), BARM (the Netherlands), BALPPA (UK), RAAPA (Russia) and important manufacturers from Switzerland. In 2001 EAASI was officially founded and also created the Euro Amusement Show, the European trade exhibition that is now the Euro Attractions Show organised by IAAPA.

Of course times change and new international competitors are now in the market, especially from emerging countries, so the choice and competition isn’t just on low cost but also in the balance of quality and innovation, together with very high safety standards. ANCASVI is also now working in areas providing new challenges, such as intellectual property rights, the harmonisation of international standards and the relaunching of the “Made in Italy” brand of amusement rides around the world.

In July 2011 the association hosted a special meeting in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy, which discussed the revision of the European Standard EN 13814 on the Safety of Amusement Rides. The meeting was organised in collaboration with three international associations, AiCE, EAASI and IAAPA Europe, and the Global Standard Harmonisation committee, the group of experts that is working to harmonise the safety of amusement rides around the world. Over a period of six days, participants from Europe, the USA and Russia discussed the revision of EN 13814 and its harmonisation with other international standards, first of all ASTM (USA) and Gost R (Russia), but also Australian and many other standards. The result of the meeting was positive and the revision of the European Standard will proceed with a good consensus.

At the time of the meeting, ANCASVI also took the opportunity to celebrate its 25th anniversary with members, colleagues and friends at the Antica Corte Pallavicina, a unique and very special venue.

The association continues to look forward and is currently preparing an important programme of activities, the first of which will be an International Congress in October 2011 in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Two years on from the first such event, the second meeting will be focused on the actual international situation and the challenges that await our industry.

In relation to international standards, another important committee in which ANCASVI is involved is the ISO/TC 254 Safety of Amusement Rides and Amusement Devices, under the secretariat of Russia. This is a worldwide committee with an important programme and involves most of those in the Global Standard Harmonisation group, the aim being to ensure the future ISO standard remains consistent with the existing standards that it may replace in the future.

ANCASVI is involved in many other day to day activities typical of any association, such as contact with and support of members, dealings with authorities and the media and many others. And as with many similar organisations, it is the voluntary work of members that enables ANCASVI to achieve what it has over the years.

Having celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, the association looks forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary in another 25 years.

www.ancasvi.it