IMER GROUP unveils new logistics and commercial site in Spain

Spain is confirmed as a strategic market for IMER Group di Poggibonsi (Siena). The Italian group, European leader in the production of construction machinery, spraying and transport machinery, machinery and plant for the production, transportation and laying of concrete and specialist earth-moving machinery, unveiled the site of its commercial subsidiary IMER Iberica in Saragossa at an event attended by numerous Italian and Spanish officials. Representing an investment of ˆ4.8 million, the new structure occupies a total surface area of 20,000 sq. m. (8,500 sq. m. of which is indoor) and employs a total of 54 employees.

IMER Iberica has a further 10,000 sq. m. of land on which to expand the main site, not to mention 2,500 sq. m. of warehouse and office space (the old Cadrete site, 11 km from Saragossa). 65% of staff work at IMER Iberica's new main site (finance, administration, sales, engineering, mechanical and warehouse), while the remaining 35% work at IMER Iberica's four regional sites (known as "delegaciones"). The aim is to achieve a capillary market presence in the various regions of Spain.

The new IMER Iberica site, built in La Cartuja Baja (6 km from Saragossa), represents the main logistics facility of IMER Group's Spanish subsidiary. There is a general depot for the various products and accessories, a large area dedicated exclusively to spare parts and a mechanical workshop covering more than 1,000 sq. m. At the site are various finance, administration and sales offices, as well as the engineering department and warehouse. However, the IMER Group subsidiary still has its old Saragossa site in Cadrete (11 km from Aragona's provincial capital), which covers a total area of 2,500 sq. m. "For our Group", explains Silvano Bencini, IMER Group Chairman, "the opening of the new IMER Iberica office represents a huge step forward. With this structure, IMER Group can significantly expand in a strategic market such as Spain and market IMER-branded products much more efficiently. This includes construction machinery, spraying and transport machinery, mixer trucks and concrete-mixing plant, intended not just for the Spanish market, but for the Portuguese market also".

IMER Iberica, established in 1994, has allowed IMER Group to consolidate its presence in the Spanish market. The IMER Group subsidiary is responsible for marketing a wide range of solutions aimed at companies in the building sector. "In the last few years", emphasises Mariano Del Rio, Chief Executive of IMER Iberica, "we have grown considerably in terms of our market presence, partly due to the solid overall performance of the construction sector in Spain. The opening of our new site will allow us to expand further, offering an increasingly comprehensive product range tailored to the needs of our customers. We will also be able to count on increasing support from IMER Group, which has shown that it ascribes strategic importance to the role of IMER Iberica in its international expansion strategy". In fact, IMER Iberica distributes four main types of product in Spain and Portugal: plant and machinery for the building industry, public works machinery, spraying and transport machinery and aerial platforms. Over the last 10 years, the Spanish subsidiary has obtained outstanding results, mainly due to its ability to distribute innovative products manufactured by an international Group. In the 2007 financial year, the turnover of IMER Iberica was ˆ23 million, an incalculable increase compared with 1994, its first year of trading.

In terms of IMER Group products, the Spanish subsidiary is responsible for marketing lines developed by the Construction Machinery Division (concrete mixing, elevation, blending and compaction) and the Spraying and Transport Machinery Division, in addition to products from the Concrete Machinery Division (the division responsible for developing plant and machinery for the production and transport of concrete). IMER Iberica has continued to grow at a faster than average rate for the sector, launching new, internationally renowned brands which, together with existing products, today results in a more comprehensive and attractive product range. In fact, IMER Iberica sells a wide variety of high-tech, high-quality and high-performance products at prices adapted to the construction machinery and public works market.

In addition to IMER Group products, IMER Iberica is currently the exclusive distributor in Spain and Portugal for a number of international companies, such as the Italian Lae, Rotair, Sclaverano, Veroni and Dima, the Japanese Mikasa and the German Laserliner and Rokamat. In terms of the aerial platform sector, IMER Iberica has entered this market through an agreement with the British company UpRight Powered Access to distribute its products in Spain.