Audax Energia: Spain, Catalonia and much of Italy
D. Ing. Calabretta, a year has passed since you were appointed Country Manager of Audax Italia. What is the balance of these 12 months?
It goes without saying that it has been an intense and exciting year, full of challenges. Providing electricity and gas to over 55 thousand users, i.e. Italian families and businesses, is a responsibility and at the same time a source of satisfaction. Energy is increasingly present in the different areas of our lives - private, social, professional - and knowing that we are actors in commercialization makes us very proud. In addition to being particularly attentive, we are aware that all our actions must be aimed at guaranteeing a safe, punctual and convenient service.
D. Audax Italia è cresciuta in modo a dir poco vertiginoso…
Yes, without a doubt. The data illustrates this development curve well: from 5 million euros in turnover in 2015 we went to 65 million in 2017. In between, a leap of 60 million. In 2018 growth continued although not at the same pace.
Q. In addition to the legitimate satisfaction and the difficulty in continuing at the rate of these percentages, we imagine that an increase of this kind has had repercussions on your business.
Above all, it highlighted how the organizational structure of the newly formed Italian branch was inadequate for exponential growth. A rather common situation when faced with performances of this type, in which the results obtained go beyond expectations and exceed the possibility and time of adaptation in terms of speed.
Q. Does this mean a planned slowdown?
Rather than a planned slowdown, I would speak of 2018 as a period dedicated to the strengthening and consolidation of the structure in all its components. The objective is twofold: to maintain and increase the results obtained in terms of customers and to try to redefine the processes in order to facilitate internal workflows and - above all - improve external services. Only in this way is it possible to lay the foundations for sustained but harmonious growth, without excessive shocks and therefore designed to last over time.
Q. What areas have you worked on??
On invoicing and accounting systems, on the organization of tasks and roles in the company, and on the workforce, also hiring more highly trained professionals compared to the beginning of the Italian adventure. But above all we have started an important transformation of the customer care system and the back office, in order to make processes more efficient and increase the quantity and quality of services.
We were aware that customer care was an area in which to intervene with conviction and as a priority. And not just for a question of mere reputation, but of real ability - I would say skills - to offer an efficient 360-degree service; in concrete terms it means giving answers in a timely and useful manner, resolving problems and satisfying customer requests, making our users feel happy with their choice and therefore less inclined to look for other offers from our competitors.
Q. Let's look at current events. The Energy Authority has decided to postpone the end of the protected market by one year, i.e. to July 2020. What changes for Audax?
Audax Italia would have been ready to face the challenges posed by a completely liberalized market as early as next year. The postponement of the date, as is natural, allows us to have more time available to complete our work of internal reorganization and development of new and more advanced services and products.
D. Ancora due anni in attesa della piena liberalizzazione, dunque…
The regret is for consumers who will have to wait another two years or so before accessing more advantageous offers resulting from finally real competition. In fact, while the business market is almost entirely deregulated, an important portion of domestic users, around 20 million, remain under the protected market.
The composition of the Italian energy market is known. Very few large players or sellers capable of determining the choices and directions of the same and a series of medium and small companies trying to increase their customer base. The presence of a protected market and a liberalized one, with almost monopolistic situations in the former, is a problem for the development of alternatives.
Another element is the volatility of customers, largely determined by the possibility of moving - extremely easily and quickly - from one seller to another, with almost no consequences. In Spain, where the legislation is different but liberalization has existed since the end of the nineties, this phenomenon does not occur in the massive and sudden forms of Italy.
Q. What does it mean to be part of a Group like Audax?
It means being part of a company that is both Spanish and Catalan, recent in birth but solid in resources and structure, international and articulated, but flexible and dynamic, dedicated to innovation and planning. A company in which the drive for expansion and growth is harmonized with capable management and which since 2010 has succeeded in its objective of growing continuously until it has broken through the billion euro turnover ceiling; generating economic value and jobs for around 2 thousand people. Sale of energy but not only: also photovoltaic and wind production thanks to the parks built in Europe and Central America and a variety of related services.
The imprint of founder and CEO José Elias is evident. Young and dynamic, he is a self-made man in the most authentic sense, capable of creating a continuously growing international group in the space of a few years, with his ability to seize opportunities, not miss the moment and create value in a short time.
Q. Four years have passed since the opening of the Italian offices. How close is the bond with Spain?
The relationship between the Audax Group and the various national entities does not always follow the same rules.
It depends primarily on the type of agreements and circumstances that led to the opening of a branch in a given country. In Holland, for example, where entry into the market occurred following the acquisition of a company of some importance, the degree of autonomy with Spain is greater. In other situations, such as the Portuguese one, there is more direct management by the parent company, considering not only the geographical proximity but also the regulatory and commercial affinity between the two Iberian countries.
In Italy, until 2017, invoicing and accounting were geographically "distant": the former was managed here in Italy, while the latter in Spain. Now, however, they have been brought together in a single Italian office. Just as the commercial offer and its definition take place in Italy with sharing - it goes without saying - with the Group's top management.
Likewise, the management systems and the office responsible for gas management, once located in Catalonia, have been transferred between Milan. Step by step, with the restructuring of the company organization chart underway, there is a partial transfer of skills.
Q. Towards independence, then?
No. This is neither a hidden desire nor a strategic objective. The connection exists and is essential. Rather, it means achieving functional autonomy, better development of work and activities, in particular for processes involving "local" issues. And I mean related to the country in which you operate. In Spain there remain planning and control functions which should be managed by the Group, with all its weight and prestige. One of these concerns those high-level agreements for the purchase of electricity and gas for which synergies can also be expected at group level.
The same applies to the treasury part and agreements with credit institutions, managed largely from Barcelona.
Q. A wish you would like to make come true?
More than a desire, a project we are working on. Produce energy from renewable sources here in Italy that we can eventually sell and offer to our customers. On the other hand, the parent company gives us an example: in Spain, over 35% of the energy marketed by Audax comes from renewable sources and the objective for 2020 is to exceed 60%. However, the Italian path to building wind and photovoltaic parks is more bumpy than the Iberian one. I remember that the FER decree has been in the analysis and discussion phase for a long time.
