To strengthen its service to Argentina’s emerging energy sector and better serve its growing number of customers in the country, Manitowoc Cranes has signed a distribution and service contract with Buenos Aires-based Covema SACIF, one of the country’s leading construction equipment dealers.
Cristian Galaz, Manitowoc’s Vice President of Sales for South America (excluding Brazil), and Alejandro Gianakis, Covema SACIF’s President, made the partnership official during a signing ceremony at Covema’s facilities in Buenos Aires earlier this year.
“We are very pleased to announce that Manitowoc has named Covema as its official distributor of Manitowoc crawler cranes and Grove mobile cranes in Argentina,” Galaz says. “This alliance will enhance our presence in Argentina with a market-leading products that serve customers in the energy sector and many other industry sectors.”
Argentina’s oil and gas sector is expected to rapidly expand in the coming years and is a market where Manitowoc offers a number of products suitable for a variety of operations. Currently in Argentina there are many sectors of the energy industry that are still developing, both in the implementation of networks and in the construction of plants. Plus, there is growing demand for renewable energy in the form of wind farms, according to Galaz.
Due to the proximity of Manitowoc’s factory in Passo Fundo, Brazil (where the company builds Grove rough-terrain cranes and Potain tower cranes), units can be delivered to Argentina in about three days. In addition, customers in country can take advantage of a 14% tax exemption for units below 60 t (65 USt) capacity, thanks to the Mercosur trade agreement.
In the last few years, Covema had established itself as a strategic Manitowoc Crane Care partner in the region by supplying spare parts and services to Grove customers in Argentina. The dealer also has created business opportunities for the global crane manufacturer in the country.
“The long tradition and well-known reputation of Covema combined with Manitowoc’s array of industry-leading products and services is a surefire recipe for success in Argentina and beyond,” Gianakis of Covema says.
