ELF News update 2011

• ELF Convention in Tel Aviv was a fantastic success.

There were over 900 visitors to the convention who participated in the exhibition and training. The biggest groups were from Denmark with 34, Turkey 33 and Belgium 26. There were many social events and tours and the highlight was the Gala dinner. Congratulations to the Israeli Locksmith association on their great work and our thanks to Mul-T-Lock and Silca for their generous sponsorship.

The summer ELF board meeting was held in Tel Aviv during the convention.

Dave O’Toole was re-elected President of ELF for two more years.

Mr Tzachi Weisenfeld of AssaAbloy and Mr Hans Weissenbock of Kaba addressed the board meeting about the activities in their companies and their relationship with ELF locksmiths.

• The President of ELF has been in contact with Assaabloy to deal with some issues between various companies in the group and locksmiths in different countries. This was as a result of AA buying Swesafe a very large chain of 24 locksmith shops in Sweden. Several meetings have taken place and great progress has been made to resolve the problems and to increase cooperation between both parties. A pilot scheme has been agreed in UK between MLA and AA to set up a working group between both groups.

• The ELF President addressed the international management meeting of Kaba to promote ELF members as trading partners. A follow up meeting was held in Vienna to further discuss issues raised including the purchase by Kaba of a lock wholesaler and 11 locksmith shops. Meetings have been arranged with Kaba management and some national associations to improve the business relationship between them.

• Meetings have taken place with Dorma to discuss ways to help business with locksmiths as Dorma own some locksmith shops in Scandinavia

• ELF members have agreed to promote independent manufacturers in their own countries who produce specialist products for locksmiths.

• There has been very good feedback from the auto convention jointly organised by MLA,ALA and ELF. This was the first locksmith conventioned organised in the world and it was a great success with over 450 attendees from 26 different countries participating. There has already been a follow up auto convention held in US.

• A report will be undertaken to examine the locksmith business and to advise as to the future of it and ways to protect the income of ELF locksmiths

• The ELF President will travel to the ALOA convention and participate in an international meeting of locksmith associations which will be sponsored by Medeco. This meeting is to look at ways to improve relationships between locksmiths from all around the world
• The President will participate in the 100^th anniversary of the FAB factory in The Czech Republic on October 5^th. He will meet with the Czech locksmith association who have applied to join ELF.

• Preparations are well underway for the next ELF convention which will be held in Lillehammar in Norway on March 21^st to 25^th 2012.

• The ELF convention 2013 will be held in Madrid, Spain in May.

ELF Report September 2010.

Hopefully with the economic crisis receding in most European countries, locksmiths can now look forward to an improvement in business.

The last two years have proved that locksmiths who are well organised and educated will survive any type of economic climate.

Security is an important factor for any home or business and is high on the list of priority spending. With the right marketing approach there are plenty of opportunities out there for all locksmiths.

The board members of ELF have been working away as hard as ever in recent times, working with a network of  active European locksmith associations who exchange ideas to promote the locksmith industry and ELF members.

1)      The European locksmith Federation is still growing. From its humble beginnings with 6 member countries, it has now grown to 21 national associations. This year two more countries joined, Ukraine and The Russian Federation and I welcome them on behalf of all the members of ELF. I am in contact with four more countries expressing interest in joining us. ELF is already the largest security organisation in Europe and hopefully as a large family we can continue to protect and promote the locksmith industry.

2)      The ELF convention in Istanbul was an outstanding success. There were 1835 attendees from 65 different countries participating. Locksmiths traveled from as far as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Mongolia, South Africa, US, Canada etc to attend the wonderful experienced organised by our colleagues in Turkey. There were educational classes and an exhibition that was packed all day, every day particularly with locksmiths crowding around the many booths demonstrating new and innovative locksmith tools. The social events were very well received by all the partners who attended. There were over 300 people attending the gala dinner. On behalf of all the members of ELF, I want to thank Sinan Bakal and the Turkish locksmiths association for all their hard work and contribution.

     Mul –T-Lock are the main sponsors of the convention and I wish to thank them for their generosity and support.

Details of the convention in Tel  Aviv can be found on www.elf2011.com and having traveled to Tel Aviv before I can recommend it as a Fabulous holiday destination if you wish to combine one with the convention.

3)      ELF in recognition that many of our members work with car locks have along with the Auto Locksmith Association and MLA of UK organised an Auto Locksmith Convention. This will take place in Manchester, UK on November 6^th & 7^th. ELF is sponsoring one auto locksmith from each member association to participate in the convention. ELF will pay for travel, hotel and educational classes in the hope that the information will be shared with other auto locksmiths in the association. We also aim to create a network of European locksmiths by introducing the locksmiths to each other. This is part of the overall ELF plan to work with motor manufacturers to supply pin codes for car keys. Details of the auto locksmith convention can be found on www.the-auto-convention.org.

      4)   ELF is in contact with the major lock manufacturers. Locksmiths in many countries are concerned about recent developments with lockproducts. Many locks are now manufactured in the Far East to save money but the quality has deteriorated while the cost to the locksmiths has risen substantially. Locksmiths are looking for good quality products but not necessarily cheap to provide quality service to their customers. With the right educational and marketing support, locksmiths can become an even bigger and better customer for lockmanufacturers. Technology is changing so fast now with electronics that locksmiths with the right support are ideally placed to increase market share.

5)      On the ELF website  - www.eurolockfed.com - we have a  message board for all members to participate. If you need information on products or services from another country, please try it. If you come across an interesting product that you think your fellow locksmiths might be Interested in, please post the details up.

6)      In 2010, ERSI the Italian association celebrated its 25^th anniversary and Lithuania its 10^th. Congratulations to both organisations.

7)      Education is a very important part of the strategy of ELF for its members. We try wherever possible to promote education amongst our members with a commitment to help national associations. If you think there is any thing that ELF can do, please contact your national association with your idea.

8)      Interkey in Germany is launching their new locksmith management software package at Security Essen on October 4^th 2010. This is an innovative product that may be suitable for other locksmith associations and we will keep you informed.

9)      The Norwegian locksmith Association have produced an excellent manual on electronic door security. It deals with basic electricity, and electronic lock installations, best practises etc and it may be published in English at a later date.

Dave O’Toole

ELF President