Piero Formenti, Vice President of UCINA, has been confirmed President of EBI, the Association which represents leisure marine industry in Europe.

During the annual general assembly in Bruxelles last June 14th, EBI elected its new Council and confirmed Piero Formenti as head of the prestigious organization. The new Council will act as the governing body of the association for the next 2 years.

Piero Formenti, an Italian businessman born in 1958, is a direct pragmatic person. His passion started very early in his land, in the province of Pavia, when, at the age of 20, built his first rib as an amateur. Piero is a determined reliable person who is never afraid to say what he thinks. In 1979, he founded the Zar Formenti company which progressively became an iconic brand of Italian boat industry in the world by producing inflatable boats characterized by unmistakable design.

“European shipyards deserve and need a strong Association which represents their interests. The work of the Council is essential but we need that all the members of EBI ensure their involvement and commitment so that we can continue our work and become a strong voice in Europe. On behalf of the newly elected Council, I want to thank everyone for the thrust and the support received” tells us Piero Formenti in a phone interview immediately after the appointment.

“ I can guarantee that we will do everything in our power in the next two years to promote the sector and our values at the European key figures and towards the most important stakeholders. I’m deeply honoured to represent such a competent motivated Council“.

The general assembly has also confirmed as Vice Presidents the representatives of Poland (POLBOAT), Piotr Jasionowski, and of France (FIN) Jean-Pierre Goudant. Robert Marx, member of the German association BVWW and Past President of EBI remains in the council while the Spanish representative (ANEM) Carlos Sanlorenzo joins the council for the first time.

EBI closely works with European institutions. The association currently consists of 14 countries and closely works with over 7,000 companies of the boat industry sector in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Holland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

UCINA CONFINDUSTRIA NAUTICA is the Italian marine industry association, part of Confindustria, which has been representing boat industry – from shipyards to accessories manufacturers, from services to boating tourism – since 1967. With 302 member companies, it represents over 80% of Italian boat industry and 65% of overall turnover. Its aim is to promote the growth of marine industry sector through intense advertising campaigns, collection and diffusion of industry’s data, diffusion of the culture of the sea and development of boating tourism.