Cableways Impact Assessment Study - Final Report - saferail.nl

IA Study Concerning the Revision of the Cableways Directive
In addition to a reduction in the number of companies in the sector, large cableway
manufacturers appear to have branched out into their upstream supply chains,
although, this process was already under way before the Directive came into force (for
example, as described in Section 2, Doppelmayr acquired cabin manufacturer CWA
in 2002 and Poma acquired Semer in 1991). Box 3.1 describes the process as it
occurred for Italian suppliers of electronic parts.
Box 3.1: Case Study – Electronics Manufacture and Cableways Manufacturers
Consultation suggests that in the 1980s there were three or four manufacturers of electronic/control
equipment in Italy that supplied cableways manufacturers. The two main manufacturers (Ansaldo
and EEI) held 85% of the market while a few smaller firms held smaller market shares (no more than
10%). At this time, Leitner and Doppelmayr did not produce any electronic equipment themselves.
In 2000, large cableways manufacturers started producing their own parts or buying standardised
components for their applications and they now own 80% of the total market of electronic equipment
for cableways in Italy. The remainder of the market is shared between other firms.
It has been suggested that the Cableways Directive played a role in this process as it has pushed for
standardisation which is more favourable for the large manufacturers rather than the small ones. With
reference to the electronic component sector, it was further noted that each installation has a group of
products particular to it and because of the Directive; the products have to be the same as what was
certified and it is difficult to modify systems. Any change to the product requires assessment by the
notified body. Large cableway manufacturers produce subsystems to satisfy 90% of their needs, but
they do not satisfy all of their needs, with more customised systems being produced by smaller
companies. To a certain extent, this is similar to the position/view of a small manufacturer which
produces highly customised cable driven installations which are not subject to the Directive and
which suggested that their products complement the product portfolios of the large players and as
such there is no competition between them and the large players.
Source: Based on an interview with a company, 1st March 2012.
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