Cooperation is the key Acmar

COOPERATION IS THE KEY

Italian cooperative building society Acmar is more than just a leading player in the European building trade. Today, the company leads an international group that has managed to grow in a number of complementary sectors, including railways and packaging, always by keeping in mind the importance of maintaining a cooperative approach to business.

Acmar is a well known brand in Italy and Europe, especially among building trade operators. That’s because, in more than fifty years of activity, the cooperative society has managed to set a new standard for quality in the building sector thanks to a strategy based on a mix of passion, diversified approach and attention to the human side of business. The last has proven to be crucial both in terms of establishing strong relations with customers and improving the quality of life for the people currently working for the company.

Establishing strong synergies within the companies of the group is definitely one of the keys to their success. Expanding competencies

Created in 1951 by 27 building workers who decided to join forces, Acmar has grown steadily for more than forty years. One of the key moments in the further development of the group was in 1995, when Acmar acquired a share of Bonciani, a leading company operating in the railways sector. That was only the beginning, Acmar continued to grow through strategically important acquisitions in sectors such as offshore and underwater construction and even packaging. It also strengthened its position in the railways sector through the takeover of companies such as Leon d’Oro, VCB, Pasolini, and Essen.

The progressive acquisition of new and increasingly advanced production investments made it possible for the cooperative to reach occupational and professional goals with benefits not only for all the members and employees, but also in the more general public interest. It is in this context that Acmar acquired interests in specialised sectors such as railway works, industrial packaging and, restoration, which accompany the core business of construction and property.

Today, the structure of the Acmar group is even more diversified and includes companies such as Enercat, a leading producer of clean energy systems, Italcomm, a provider

of Internet and VoIP-based communication services, and Haver, which owns the multiplex movie theater in Ravenna. Acmar has a flexible and well-organized management structure, based on a general director who coordinates the activities of the companies of the group. In addition to UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System certification, Acmar has just achieved dual certification to UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 Environmental management systems and BS OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational health and safety management systems.

Recent investments and achievements

With an investment of more than 750.000 euros in December 2010, ACMAR has completed installation works on the roof of its Working Centre in San Michele (Ravenna) of two photovoltaic systems for electricity production, both made up of 425 modules photovoltaic polycrystalline silicon cells, and each rated at 99.875 KWP. The photovoltaic system was connected on 2011. By applying appropriate factors of modules’ performance degradation, it is then calculated that within ten years, the two photovoltaic systems will reduce emissions by more than 1,100 tons of CO2. Moreover, Acmar, in a two-year period from 2009 to 2010, began to introduce combined heat and power systems from renewable sources in its own property in order to pursue a policy of significant reduction of CO2 emissions.

The Italian group invests a lot in technological improvement and quality controls for each of the diverse sectors it operates in. Also, the company is keenly aware of the importance of investing in effective communication strategies, as witnessed by the large number of sponsorships Acmar is involved in, ranging from football to basketball, cycling, fencing, and many more.

Among Acmar recent projects are the construction of civil works, restoration and maintenance of hospitals, office buildings, schools, convention centres, public swimming pools, shopping centres, hotels, bridges, direct sales of apartments, villas, offices and shops in Ravenna, Faenza, Rome and Florence. In particular, the company has been involved in the last couple of years in the construction of the A&E department in Ravenna, the hospital Santa Maria in Reggio Emilia, and Port of Rome Residences. n