Sempertrans, the conveyor belt business segment of the publicly listed Semperit Group, has stepped up its activities in North America. Together with its strategic partner Shaw Almex Industries Ltd, a leading provider of industrial and vulcanisation presses, Sempertrans formalised the agreement to be operated under the new entity Sempertrans USA LLC. The Semperit owned entity is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA with sales representatives and application engineering being located throughout North America.

“In recent years, we have successfully established our sales and marketing activities in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Through the partnership with Shaw Almex we will utilise our long-term growth potential in the second largest conveyor belt market worldwide and prepare for the next market upturn,” commented Boris Illetschko, Sempertrans General Manager. The estimated conveyor belt demand including replacement investments in North America is roughly $640 million. “Even in the currently very challenging market environment we will further expand our market shares with our technically advanced and high-quality products, a competitive price-performance ratio and the market coverage and know-how of Shaw Almex,” expresses Illetschko.

“It is very exciting to see this project move to the next phase,” states Tim Shaw, CEO of the North American operations. “With an inventory of several million dollars located at the Atlanta distribution facility and with the ability to slit to custom widths and ship within 24 hours, this will significantly increase our market penetration.” To serve the Mexican market, Sempertrans will also have inventory and slitting capabilities in Leon, Mexico strategically located near the major mining operations. “We are also very pleased that we have received MSHA Certification opening the underground mining market to our high quality product as well,” adds Shaw.

On top of Sempertrans’ conveyor belt design and manufacturing expertise, Shaw Almex provides technical and infrastructure expertise, as well as access to the North American market. Additionally, the sales efforts will be supported by cooperation with selected distributors offering Sempertrans high performance heavy duty textile and steel reinforced conveyor belts. The main applications for the products are mining, steel, cement, power plants and the transport industry.