Soltis Tour stops in Zevenbergen

Thursday, March 30, was a somewhat tempestuous day, but visitors to the Soltis Tour at ROMA Benelux were well protected by large ROMA screens with Soltis Veozip cloth by Serge Ferrari enclosing the outdoor space of the ROMA facility in Zevenbergen. Consequently, a fitting entourage for the Tour, which visits a total of thirty places in seven countries. The main objective for Serge Ferrari - besides presenting his extensive range of products - was to publicize the name Soltis as a brand name.

In the wake of the Soltis Tour, the partners of the Tour had also come to Zevenbergen. It makes the setup of the Tour very congenial, because visitors not only get to know Serge Ferrari/Soltis, but also the company where the Soltis Tour is currently based, in this case ROMA, as well as the partners: Somfy, Matic, Giofexen Lafuma and Serge Ferrari Premium Partner. A kind of mini-exhibition-in-one-day, in other words.

The day was introduced by the ever good-humored Specification Sales Manager Benelux of Serge Ferrari Debby Vanmeerbeeck. All attendees know Serge Ferrari, so a short video as an introduction was sufficient. The main message of the day was that Serge Ferrari is going to profile itself with Soltis as a brand name towards dealers, but especially towards the end user. The name Soltis must become a household name for the end user, just as the name of one of the partners of the Tour - Somfy - already is. 

For the day's host ROMA purely warm words. The relationship between the two companies is excellent, including in the area of product development, on which the companies regularly spar and give each other useful feedback. 

After the introduction, the group was split. One group followed Toon van Osta for a tour with detailed explanations of the ROMA showroom, the other group went to the trailer of the Soltis Tour. After an hour, they switched. The same ritual followed again in the afternoon for a second group of visitors. 

Serge Ferrari - Soltis - has prepared the Tour very well. In a beautiful extendable truck, they bring their own showroom to each stop of the Tour. Soltis has canvases for all the sun protection systems that the sun protection specialist has in its showroom: for indoor and outdoor, for screens, awnings, awnings, pergolas and other canopies. 

In the mobile showroom, key canvases were presented to visitors by Debby Vanmeerbeeck and Key Account Manager Benelux Dirk Driessen. They asked for special attention to, among others, Soltis Veozip, on which Soltis is putting an extra spotlight in 2023. This fabric incorporates hemp thread. As a result, it has a mat and textile appearance. Furthermore, it is distinguished by its transparency and the thermal comfort it offers. 

With Soltis as a brand name, Serge Ferrari wants to focus more on the end user. This is also where the fabric configurator that Serge Ferrari has developed (and which is being further developed) fits in. End users can use this tool to get an idea of what their Soltis fabric will look like in practice in terms of color, transparency, shading and so on. 

Particularly for project partners, Serge Ferrari is developing a tool to determine the energy efficiency of solar shading. This takes into account a large number of parameters, such as location, orientation of facades, type of glass and, of course, fabric choice. 

Visitors to the Tour were also informed about Soltis' Premium Partner concept. Important aspects of it are knowledge transfer, for example to be able to optimally advise end customers on colors (that goes beyond the configurator), fabric properties, sales support (for which training is also offered), digitalization, service and networking opportunities to share information and knowledge with other Soltis dealers. 

For one group of guests after the program ended, for another group before the program started, Serge Ferrari and ROMA had a sumptuous lunch, of course with local and national specialties, such as Brabant sausage bread and croquette sandwich. 

For the story behind the Soltis Tour, Z&R spoke briefly after the morning session with Serge Ferrari's General Manager Solar Protection Uli Neumair, who expressed great satisfaction with the Tour so far, with Dirk Driessen and with host Toon van Osta of ROMA Benelux. 

"The 'all-in-one package' offered by the Tour has been well received," said Uli Neumair. "Visitors get a lot of information in a short time, about Soltis, but also about Somfy, the Tour's other partner companies and the company where the Tour is a guest. For us it is a very efficient, but also pleasant way to reach a lot of people in a relatively short time." Dirk Driessen agrees and adds that the Tour is a great opportunity for Serge Ferrari to get in touch with the market and with - potential - customers, and above all to promote Soltis as a brand name. υ

ROMA was approached by Uli Neumair to host. "We work closely together as companies," says Toon van Osta. "ROMA always works with multiple suppliers, and for cloths, Serge Ferrari - Soltis - is one of them. They have good cloths, we have good products! Moreover, we see the importance of such a day. Call it mutual interest, a win-win situation." 

Van Osta praises Serge Ferrari as a highly professional and reliable partner. "At ROMA everything is top notch, but at Serge Ferrari too! The latest techniques, a clean and safe work floor, everything according to the standards, attention to the environment and good products." 

"Serge Ferrari is vertically integrated," responds Neumair. "To achieve the best possible product, we keep the entire production process, from wire to finished product, in-house. The wishes and desires of trendsetters in the market such as ROMA influence - naturally, I would say - our actions. Conversely, we try to be trendsetters ourselves. We maintain a strategic cooperation with ROMA, for example in the areas of sales, marketing and R&D. We work together and learn from each other!" 

"I would like to thank Toon van Osta and ROMA Benelux for the hospitality today," concludes Uli Neumair. "It was a great day that went very well in good cooperation with all involved."

Toon van Osta told the Tour that ROMA Benelux is in the process of developing new product leaflets to help ROMA dealers with sales. He also elaborated on the new color concept ROMA is going to adopt. ROMA is moving away from gloss paints because colors in gloss paints fade fastest. I am sure we will come back to this in Z&R. He also went into detail about a number of product innovations implemented this year.