In its 10th edition, Funergal is positioned as the great international fair of the funeral sector in the Peninsula

Ourense, 09/11/2018.- Understand death as another step in life; organize funerals in which the return to Mother Earth is as respectful and less polluting as possible and in which the life that the deceased has led in some way is celebrated. These are the main trends on which the innovative products and services of the 111 exhibitors from 14 countries that between today and tomorrow present in Funergal, in Expourense. This event has positioned itself among the major global business centers of the sector since its main objective is to promote business and the competitiveness of companies.

The funeral sector is constantly updated, reinvented and works to open up even more to society. From one edition to another, trends change and new innovative products appear. Among the novelties that can be found at Funergal 2018, all those products and services oriented to “de-dramatize” death (white funeral cars or bright coffins) to organize funerals that become an intimate, full experience that serves as a tribute stand out to the life led by the deceased and in which memories are delivered as jewels with his engraved fingerprint; coffins are used that have their favorite phrase or quote recorded; twins, bracelets or pendants are ordered to deposit their ashes to always carry them nearby; crowns made with plants that are still alive and growing after the funeral or trees to plant in the place where the body lies or paper trees in which those attending the funeral leave memories.

With regard to “eco” funerals, they can be found from special incineration (which must have an ecological seal and no metal) made of materials such as cork, water-soluble urns made entirely of salt or biodegradable made with bone of olive and raffia that can be carried in 100% organic cotton carrier bags. You can also find crematorium furnaces with hardly any pollutant emissions or companies that recycle metals that do not melt in incinerations.

Another of the novelties of this edition is the Xacobeo Coffin presented by Gallego Coffins (from Piñor de Cea, Ourense), in collaboration with Ataúdes Mediterráneo (from Zaragoza), who have presented in the lounge exclusively their new model that has embedded the Cross of the Apostle Santiago and the scallop shell. This coffin, placed in front of a large screen with the image of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, is accessed by fair through a Pilgrim’s Way recreated on the stand.

With all these innovations, Funergal, International Funeral Products and Services Fair, becomes a complete one in which the tradition of quality manufacturers will be combined with new technologies and market trends adapted to the needs of different funeral professional visitors among which are representatives of large companies and others of a family nature, which are approaching, fundamentally, from different points of the Iberian Peninsula.
It is worth mentioning the large influx of audiences received during this first day of Funergal 2018 in which the official inauguration ceremony was held, which was attended by the Xeral Director of Commerce of the Xunta de Galicia, Sol Vázquez; of the mayor of Ourense, Jesús Vázquez, or of the provincial deputy, Montse Lama.

Deal

Among the business actions of this edition, the inverse commercial mission that has brought importers from Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala to the fair who have kept a busy schedule throughout the day stands out. These are countries that are in the process of modernization of the sector and that have Spanish companies as referents. The importers participating in this mission belong to important business groups that own funeral homes and cemeteries, with ample purchasing power. This mission is organized in collaboration with ALPAR (Latin American Guild Association of Cemeteries and Funeral Services), an entity that includes the main companies in the sector in America, thanks to the support of the Provincial Council of Ourense.

Training

In addition to the promotion of the business, another of Funergal’s objectives is the update of the professionals of the sector through a complete program of Technical Conferences that addressed topics such as the Qualified Professional Certification, on which several of the presentations are turning, and that It will serve to empower the funeral sector and increase its competitiveness. This certification implies that funeral professionals have to be the ones who have to perform the tasks of tanatopraxia, tanatoesthetics and tanatoplasty having to be trained for it.

The conference addressed today other training aspects such as professional communication and the techniques to succeed in shutting up, talking and gesturing aimed at funeral professionals when it comes to interacting with families that are going through a difficult time. He, PhD in Communication and director of the Management Program in Corporate Communication and Management of the IE Business School, Enrique Sueiro, presented to the professionals today the “PePa” principle, first the People, then the Papers.

Among the presentations held today is the presentation of the conclusions of the PANASE FORM, a meeting organized by the National Association of Funeral Services at the end of October in Zaragoza and which brought together more than 400 professionals from all over the country. Today’s activities conclude with the round table in which three representatives of the National Association of Tanatopraxia participate.

Awards

Among the activities planned for this edition, the delivery of the 10th anniversary special Funergal International Awards that will be delivered tonight at the traditional dinner of coexistence to which exhibitors and visitors assistants and in which the support of companies and entities that will recognize They have participated actively since the first edition of the fair and therefore have more than 20 years of fidelity to this project.

Tomorrow afternoon, the International Awards for Merit of Funeral Women will be delivered, a distinction that aims to make visible and highlight the career of professional women in a sector in which the vast majority of workers are men (in Spain women they represent 26.41% of the workers in the sector, according to PANASEF data). This recognition is given in collaboration with the Mexican company Gane Ventas Funerarias, creator of the award.

Sector in Galicia
“The funeral sector in Galicia operates in a completely different way from the rest of Spain,” said today the president of the Galician Federation of Funeral Services- FEGASERFU, José Becerra. He explained that in Galicia there are about 400 funeral companies, the largest number of all autonomous communities. While in the rest of the country they tend to concentrate and large funeral groups are acquiring small businesses, “in Galicia it still resists sometimes even merging several small or family businesses to make the sector more competitive and professional,” he explains. Calf The average cost of a funeral in Galicia is around 3,500 to 4,500 euros, although it may cost what you are willing to pay because it depends on the services you hire.