Paolo Fantoni is the new president of Assopannelli, the FederlegnoArredo association that represents the Italian companies producing wood panels and semi-finished products, elected by the general assembly to succeed the outgoing president Nicoletta Azzi.
“We are witnessing a renewed interest in the home, in terms of consumption orientation and household purchase spending: an interest that gives a new perspective to our entire sector, an integrated supply chain that makes Italian design a strategic strength for the whole system ” declares Paolo Fantoni. “The Covid emergency also represents a challenge from the point of view of operations, just think of digital as a fundamental tool of closeness between the Federation and the associates. This path will be pursued and enhanced.
The cornerstone of Assopannelli’s activity will be the recovery and development of poplar cultivation, which represents for Italy the most significant internal source of timber for industry. Also through new tools such as the enhancement of CO2 preserved and stored in wood, rather than the use of floodplain land, which must represent an area in which to go to replant traditional cultivation, especially in the Po valley, in agreement with the regional authorities.
Finally, the issue of introducing the extended responsibility of furniture manufacturers will be crucial, to ensure that the circular economy hoped for in Brussels extends to this sector as well, and not just to the world of wood packaging. Without forgetting, even before recycling, the reuse of recovered furniture”.
