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Platform on sun and daylight control, shutters, patio covers and closures
The last Sun Protection Industry Day—then still called Romazo Industry Day—was in the fall of 2019. Because Industry Day is held every two years, it was time again at the beginning of November. The umpteenth wave of COVID-19 had not yet arrived, so the day could take place in a reasonably relaxed atmosphere. As if nothing had happened in the meantime.
But something has definitely happened. At the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus crisis began, and since then, the world has looked very different. But there was little sign of that during the Sun Protection Branch Day. It was pleasantly busy, but certainly not too busy, especially considering the space available at Papendal, where the event was held this time. But space is important these days, when social distancing is one of the basic measures.
’The closed members' meeting of Romazo Professionals and Romazo Manufacturers and Suppliers had already taken place in the morning. The subsequent extensive lunch for members and non-members of the trade association marked the start of the afternoon program. The lunch break also provided an opportunity to visit the stands of the members of Romazo Manufacturers and Suppliers. That part of the program remained somewhat underexposed on this day, and there was actually no mini-fair.
It has almost become a tradition for Buzzmaster to kick off the afternoon program of the Sun Protection Branch Day. With more or less provocative statements, attendees are encouraged to respond. Chairman Eddy Hillebrand of Romazo Professionals, who acted as master of ceremonies for the afternoon, engaged the audience by asking for explanations or responses here and there.
Among the bottlenecks for the sector mentioned were the lack of (technical) personnel and delivery and transport problems. These are well-known issues that are often in the news and affect many sectors. It is no coincidence that, despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, unemployment is extremely low. Incidentally, there has been a shortage of technical personnel for some time now. In addition, many in the audience expressed concern about the scarcity of raw materials and the associated price increases, the global chip shortage, and the shortage of containers. The staff shortage is a particular cause for concern: it is difficult to find motivated staff, and the level of education was often considered to be low, as was work ethic.
Mutual communication was also an interesting topic. Manufacturers and suppliers appeared to be much more positive about this than the sun protection specialists: 90 to 60%. Failure to communicate in a timely manner was a point of criticism. Many saw clarity and honesty as elements of a solution. If customers can log in to the manufacturer's website to view the status of their order, this can eliminate a lot of frustration.
There were some interesting responses to a question about the term "overheating." Whether sun protection professionals often used it in their sales pitches. 60% did not. Some thought it sounded too negative. Others thought it was an advantage: the sun protection sector has the solution! Romazo's EPI range—Energy Performance Indicator: what you can expect from a particular sun protection solution—was also not used very often: 14%. So there still seems to be room for improvement.
When you organize the Zonwering Branch Day at the national Papendal Sports Center, a sports-related component is a must for the program. This isn't the first time, by the way, because in 2015, top referee Björn Kuipers made an appearance at the Industry Day. With great success, by the way: the audience hung on his every word and revelled in his stories and anecdotes.
Now it was Francesco Wessels' turn, team leader of the High Performance Team at NOC*NSF. He and his team assess whether what coaches do is useful in helping athletes achieve their performance goals. In other words, he is a coach for coaches. The relationship between athletes and their coaches in the Netherlands mirrors society and can serve as an example of how management and staff relate to each other in a company.
Dutch athletes are assertive. They challenge their coaches to constantly question whether they are still doing things right. This helps to raise the bar. Tiny Netherlands ranked seventh in the medal count at the Tokyo Olympics and fifth at the Paralympics. The business world can certainly learn from this.
Other points of attention: good communication, the quality of the conversation (there it is again), giving responsibility, taking responsibility, ‘together’ and commitment. Being committed to the choices you make. As an example, Wessels mentioned athlete Churandy Martina, who has been giving his all to top-level sport for thirty years. That commitment to achieving a goal can, of course, easily be translated to everyday life and business.
Retail expert Paul Moers's motto for his presentation was ‘Fuck the price, long live service.’ These kinds of presentations are always useful for refocusing. They encourage entrepreneurs to think about their own performance, which is always a good thing. The fact that he offered his book at a reduced price at the end of his presentation – “On behalf of the publisher” – detracted somewhat from the power of his otherwise humorous story.
Between the program components, there was also a brief moment reserved for former industry manager Martin Straver, who still has a soft spot for the sun protection industry. In about five minutes, he told a story that could easily have filled an hour. ‘Towards a sunny future.’ ES-SO, Smart Solar Shading, overheating, training courses—it all flew by at breakneck speed.
A well-known Dutchman at the Sun Protection Branch Day was Hans Kazan. Anyone who expected a few people to be magically disappeared, sawn in half, or otherwise killed off was disappointed. Kazan began and ended with a few of his inimitable tricks, but in between he spoke at length about a failed business deal that had caused him a lot of misery, but had also made him stronger. He had learned from it not to look back too much, but above all to look ahead.
The afternoon program ended with the announcement of the Sun Protection Company of the Year. Due to COVID-19 and because they had finished in second place a few times, they had to wait a long time for this: Laumen Rolluiken Zonwering from Heerlen. They were very happy with the award.
The Sun Protection Industry Day traditionally ended with drinks and a walking dinner. All in all, it was a successful and useful day. It is good that the industry can meet once every two years to follow a joint program and network. As already noted, the location was excellent. The program was good, perhaps with a little too little focus on sun protection, but there is always something. Strengthening the sense of community within the industry is an important function of the industry day, and that seems to have been successful.
It is, of course, no secret that the organization secretly hopes that the Sun Protection Industry Day will lead to more members for Romazo, but that is certainly not the primary goal. To avoid any appearance of bias and keep things as neutral as possible, the event has even been renamed Sun Protection Industry Day instead of Romazo Industry Day as of this year. So, no excessive soul-winning, but the fact remains that a powerful trade association is important to represent the industry and to safeguard the position of sun protection as an important tool against overheating and for energy saving. Strong together also applies in the sun protection industry.
