Who knows better than a local partner how the market moves, especially in particular geographical areas? A new section is launching today in Landscapes, dedicated to the Insights of our partners. We'll be airing the opinions of those working out in the field every day, to hear anecdotes and discover visions of the future of our industry. Our journey starts in Treviolo, Bergamo province (Italy), with our partner Mobilberg, in this business since 1965 and an office furniture specialist, including contract furniture. Not only that, the store also sells products like sliding wall partitions, lighting, curtains and suspended ceilings, offering a fully comprehensive service for customers. The two owners of the company answered some of our questions. We're talking to Marco Cortinovis, head of Sales, and Roberto Consonni, head of the Technical and Design department.

The office and the COVID 19 crisis: how Mobilberg Srl has coped

  1. The city of Bergamo was the public face of the COVID-19 crisis. Were you able to keep working through the period of closure? If so, how?
As everyone knows, the city of Bergamo was hit tremendously hard by the Covid-19 crisis. After the early days of dejection and worry, we managed our staff by encouraging them to do smart working. We kept in contact with our customer base, continuing with the projects and quotations that were already programmed, albeit with a few technical difficulties. Although our offices were closed, we were still working with associations and businesses involved in the health crisis, contributing to supply of furniture to various COVID-19 wards, for example in the new Fiera di Milano and Fiera di Bergamo field hospitals. We could sum up the world in this period with a single word: solidarity. Every customer and supplier treated us with unfaltering consideration, never failing to ask, "How are things" or "How are you all doing?"
  1. Recently, we've seen a steady upturn in the use of digital tools for speaking to customers, staff and suppliers. What have you been using?
Pcon Planner, a graphic design program, has been an essential tool which has allowed us to interface directly with architects' firms, offering them elasticity and speed.
  1. Social distancing will certainly bring about changes in design in the office environment. What do you think the most noticeable changes will be? Are you already getting ready for this, for the design projects you are currently working on?
In our opinion, social distancing will lead to more people smart working, even if you can sense that people want to get back to their workplace and benefit from face-to-face communications with colleagues. Let's imagine, for example, the exchange of design ideas between professional colleagues in the same office. It is also true that we already work remotely with professional offices, using communications technology that allows us to share and exchange information.
  1. How has the way you deal with visitors changed after this period?
The customers who visit our showroom, strictly by appointment, are welcomed by a staff member who checks their temperature and ensures that they are all wearing PPE, like masks, as stipulated in the Ministerial Decree for Lombardy. What comes next? Obviously, a welcome coffee!