Mixing it up (CP 1/2009)

BASF Coatings has been supplying industrial coatings to Italy’s leading producer of concrete mixing systems since spring 2008.

Colleagues: Gianfranco Corvi (Sales Manager Postcoatings Europe), Luca Cerini (Postcoatings Marketing Manager Europe) and Valentina Modugno (Postcoatings Marketing Europe) manage IMER Group accounts for the BASF Coatings.		Concrete mixers made by Le Officine Riunite – Udine Spa (Le ORU) are utilized at major construction sites around the world. For some time now, BASF Coatings Spa has been providing the mixers’ characteristic mint green and cool gray colors via the waterborne, two-component polyurethane-based color coating systems the company supplies, along with the necessary additives. In addition to the metallic surfaces of concrete mixers, towers, tanks, silos, conveyors, and other mixing-related equipment receive BASF coatings.
		Le ORU is Italy’s largest manufacturer of concrete batching plants, concrete mixers, truck mixers, and pumps and a leader in many international markets. Le ORU has been part of the multinational IMER Group since 1999, which manufactures construction machinery and excavation equipment for global distribution. By incorporating Le ORU’s expertise in concrete, the corporation can now offer equipment for all phases of construction with just the right logistics. Service and teamwork The two partners came together this year after a thorough selection process, centering on the criteria of service and teamwork. “Both elements were of fundamental importance.
From analysis and product development in the laboratory to technical sales support, we followed the customer step by step during the development of our business relationship,” explains Gianfranco Corvi, BASF Coatings’ Sales Manager Postcoatings Europe.
Identity: Mint green, the IMER Group’s corporate color, is also their paint color for concrete mixing equipment.		The BASF coating specialists also benefited in the selection process from being the leader in wet coating technologies, as well as by having the capability to support the customer in all areas of surface protection. BASF Coatings currently covers 50 percent of Le ORU’s demand for coatings, but sights are set higher: “Industrial equipment is one of our biggest postcoating applications,” says Luca Cerini, Postcoatings Marketing Manager for
Europe at BASF Coatings Italy. “We have the portfolio, the service and the innovational capability to be the best supplier in this market and for the IMER Group.” The recent partnership with Le ORU has generated new momentum.

www.oru.it