CSM is a consortium association operating in Tuscany in home interiors, furniture, interior furnishing, RV (recreational vehicles) interiors, yachting interiors and related sectors. It was established in 1982 to offer local businesses support in terms of innovation, promotion and professional training.
The head office is located in Poggibonsi (Siena, Italy) and, as provided for by Art. 4 of the company statute, its partners can be “… entrepreneurs who own small and medium-sized industrial companies, craftsmen working in the furniture and interior decoration sector with production facilities and head office in Tuscany, public bodies, even territorial ones, private research and technical servicing organisations, trade associations in the industrial and artisan field and promotional consortia operating in this sector.”
It is administered by a Board whose members represent the economic promoters of the consortium. The fact that all trade associations can thus give their contribution to the identification of the aims and strategies of the consortium represents one of the most significant and peculiar aspects of the management. It is thus possible to focus in the same direction experiences, functions and knowledge that are “per se” not homogeneous.
CSM is leader of Distretto Interni e Design_dID (www.distrettointerniedesign.it ), the Tuscan centre related to innovation in the interiors’ system. dID performs the function of spreading the culture of innovation among the sectors of reference and an intermediary for technology transfer.
dID offers advanced and qualified services in relation to strategic issues for the competitiveness of individual companies relative to product, process and market through the development of strategic research and development projects within the framework of regional and European calls.
Animation of the District activities are planned in order to organize the cooperation between companies, enterprises and research system, public and private – matching supply and demand for innovation; organizing, sharing and dissemination of strategic information to assist enterprises in economic intelligence perspective; marketing facial district to promote the participation of new companies or bodies; the organization of seminars and conferences on reference topics.
The activities managed by CSM can be split into three main categories: promotion and internationalisation, innovation and training.
Research & Development
From the time it was established, Centro Sperimentale del Mobile has made INNOVATION one of its main targets of intervention.
CSM has developed a progressive capacity for building a unitary strategy which unites various entities in the effort to achieve innovative growth of the Tuscan woodworking, furniture and furnishing sectors.
This aim has been pursued due to the fact that, in recent years, the sector has witnessed a loss of competitiveness due to a variety of factors such as:
– Competition from countries where the cost of labour is lower
– A lack of perception of the changes in the market
– Difficulty in reasoning in terms of product system and fully assessing the importance of factors like communication
– A poor attitude towards innovation
Hence the need to unite the various entities within the sector to focus attention on formal-technological-organisational INNOVATION, with the aim of increasing the sector’s competitive edge, taking action to improve overall quality, the efficiency of its production factors and the ability to communicate and integrate with global markets.
International Activities
Centro Sperimentale del Mobile operates to promote the woodworking, furniture and furnishing sectors on international markets, implementing a series of activities which include the organisation of symposia abroad, participation in trade fairs in the sector, the organisation of shows and exhibitions, the performance of market research and the invitation of foreign operators to Tuscany
Courses & training
Training is a strategic activity for CSM. CSM is defining an integrated plan of training able to act at several levels on strategic figures within the enterprises (entrepreneurs and manager, executives, managers, responsible departments with particular attention to the roles more directly linked to innovation’s processes).
It is possible to postulate the creation of a Training Centre for Interior Design, as coordination of training facilities, on the Tuscan territory, working on the sectors of reference.
CSM is a part of national cluster related to smart living technologies applied to living environments.
CSM
LOC. SALCETO, 41 – 53036 POGGIBONSI (SIENA)
TEL: 0577937457
FAX: 0577936297
