SAMOTER AND ASPHALTICA 2014: THE COMPLETE RANGE OF MADE IN ITALY MACHINERY AND TECHNOLOGY ON SHOW FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS

Positive signals from foreign trade missions and international exhibitors attending the show until tomorrow. Markets in Russia, India, Asean countries, the Middle East and Spain in the spotlight.

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Verona, 11 May 2014. A complete overview of the Italian offering in construction, earth moving, site and building machinery sectors, as well as technologies for road infrastructures. Samoter and Aphaltica 2014 (8-11 May) welcome foreign trade missions and buyers travelling to Verona from 40 countries in precisely this light. For a sector - as is the case for Italy - exporting 2.1 billion euros out of total turnover of 2.5 billions, looking abroad is crucial. Russia is the second export market for Italian companies with a trend that grew in January this year by 66.5%. The Middle East, and especially Iran and Iraq, are keen to find Italian partnerships and know-how, while the Indian Government has launched projects in the residential sector and road infrastructures (National Highway Development Project) worth over 50 billion dollars.

Russian companies travelling to Veronafiere were particularly pleased with the Asphaltica-Samoter combination, says Oksana Pervshina, Head of Purchasing at LLC Stroygazconsulting, a giant corporation with more than 3,000 employees having operations in oil and gas pipeline installation as well as civil buildings, subways and roads. The company is one of the largest construction groups in Russia. "Here," Pervshina explained, "we have found a complete panorama the Italian offering in the construction sector and equally appreciated the products and technological solutions for the road sector, which is very important for our group." Actio Rus, an important Russian distributor of quarry and construction machinery, is also on hand at Samoter. Mikhail Shcherbinin, Manager of the company's Truck Department, says that the outcome of his trade mission is definitely positive, because "it enabled us to make many useful contacts and find very interesting and innovative products in areas such as crushing."

As regards India, highly sophisticated road construction technologies are highlighted in Verona  "I am attending Samooter and Asphaltica," said Sudhir Uppal, Managing Director of Indian company Opalpaints, "to find additives for asphalt and bitumen. India has great demand for these products but its own production is not adequate."  He was accompanied by another Indian buyers, Dhvanil Shah of Jhanvi Earthmovers, a company specialising in supplying spare parts for earth-moving and quarry machinery: "This is the first time we have visited Samoter and having seen at first hand the quality of Italian products we have decided to extend the range of spare parts we offer our customers in India."  India, in any case, according to Unacea estimates, will triple by 2015 the number of imported machines compared to 2005. 

Samoter was also attended by Asean countries (South East Asia). Kisada Laowatanawong is the Director of the Bangkok Lift & Crane Co. Ltd. that deals mainly with construction cranes as well as track-laying and wheel loaders/mechanical shovels. "I am very pleased with the contacts I have made so far here at Samoter," he said during a brief pause at the Samoter International Meeting Point.   There is strong demand for machinery in Thailand. We are looking for top quality machines and know that Italian companies are the best."  Jason Chau arrived from nearby Malaysia. He is the Administrative Director of Method Machine Works, a builder and exporter of machines used to produce concrete bricks and concrete blocks: "In addition to our products, we also export to countries in our area machinery by other companies that are complementary to our own. We are here today to find other products to complement our range of mobile crushing plants." 

Arriving from the Middle East, Asghar Aminirad is CEO of Tamin Sanat Pars, one of the companies taking part in the Iranian Mission visiting Samoter and Asphaltica. "The construction sector, as well as the natural stone and marble field, have very strong roots in Iran," he explained, "and we are looking for products and partnerships with European and Italian companies to help fill our know-how gap. Commercial relations with our country will soon no longer suffer from restrictions after the elimination of the last economic sanctions, without forgetting that Iran is a hub for exports to neighbouring countries having almost 300 million inhabitants in total."

The Iraqi delegation organised in collaboration with Unido travelled from the same geographical area.  The delegation comprises entrepreneurs operating as direct constructors as well as general contractors in the country's four provinces of Erbil, Baghdad, Nasiriyah and Basra. Some of these companies have signed an agreement with Union Bank of Iraq to take part in procurement tenders that will be launched soon for the construction of public facilities, including hospitals and roads. In this context, they are looking for Italian companies capable of becoming involved in these initiatives.

"Interest in our country is very strong," said Majid Abdullah Rushaq, Chairman of the Industry Chamber of Bassora . "We would like to open an Italian Business Centre in Bassora dedicated exclusively to Italian entrepreneurs as our colleagues in Nasiriyah have already done - and we would even like to set up a showroom or a display of these Italian technologies and machines in Iraq. In any case, we will hold a series of meetings and, after returning home, we will share with colleagues the valuable information and important technical updates we have collected here at Samoter."

The foreign delegations attending at Samoter and Asphaltica especially in the Spanish mission comprising technical machinery managers representing four giants in the construction field: Dragados (Acs Group), Acciona, Ohl and Coprosa - companies whose turnover is measured in terms of billions of euros since they are involved in major works on all continents. For the Italian construction machinery industry, the Spanish market takes 20th place for the value of exports, with moderate growth in January 2014 compared to the same month last year. Manuel Saez Rodriguez, Head of the Machinery Department at Ohl, said: "Our company operates in more or less every sector and our interest in Verona is consequently across the board. I am satisfied with what I have found, especially in the truly complete road paving area on show with Asphaltica. I hope to find an even better offering in 2017."

Carlos Martin Ortega, Project Manager at Acciona, was also very satisfied: "We are also interested in just about any and all construction and building technology. The outcome of this trade mission is positive, especially in view of the difficulties which the sector is experiencing in Italy, in exactly the same way as in Spain."