The president of the association that brings together almost 500 employees: “Companies are not asking for privileges, but fair and sustainable conditions”
Genoa – Small and medium-sized enterprises are asking for more sustainable conditions to continue guaranteeing quality, safety and continuity in the construction of railway infrastructure. At the center of the discussion promoted by A.I.Ferr., the main critical issues weighing on the sector emerged: price lists deemed no longer aligned with real costs, underestimated overheads, delays in payments and withholdings, unpredictable tender mechanisms, as well as excessive bureaucratic burden and contractual rigidities that affect the investment capacity and competitiveness of companies.
“Companies are not asking for privileges, but for certain rules, respected payment times, greater transparency in tenders and adequate tools to support daily work on construction sites,” underlined the president of A.I.Ferr., Marco Nani, highlighting how SMEs represent “the backbone of the construction and maintenance of infrastructure works.”
According to the Association, strengthening the role of small and medium-sized enterprises means protecting the entire national infrastructure supply chain, at a time when the Italian railway system is called upon to face major modernization and development challenges. There are approximately 20 companies associated with A.I.Ferr., the Association of Railway Companies, with a total turnover of 130 million euros in 2024, 450 employees and a work portfolio of over 500 million euros on behalf of Rfi. Numbers that highlight the contribution of the supply chain represented by the association in the railway sector, at the center of the conference “The role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the construction of infrastructure works – Together, on the tracks of the future”, held today in Genoa, at Palazzo San Giorgio, headquarters of the Adsp of the Western Ligurian Sea.
