IPA Group consolidates

IPA Group, after completing its latest orders in Russia, including the delivery of an LKV 650 extruder to OSMBT (Stary Oskol) and an 80 million NF/year plant under construction for Megastroyservice (Ufa), IPA Group intends to strengthen its position as a high-quality complete clay plant manufacturer. It has comprehensive know how as well as extensive experience as a machinery manufacturer, allowing it to supply technology built entirely at its own facilities.

IPA Group was formed in 2010 following the reorganisation of IPA International and the restructuring of the company's two sites: the operational site in San Damiano d'Asti which is responsible for the sales organisation and builds automatic handling systems, kilns and dryers, and the facility in Cadoneghe (Padua) where machines are built in the Laker tradition.

The acquisition of shareholdings by INVIMA and Green Finance, the new partners that have supported the former owners in the reorganisation, has strengthened the industrial development process. INVIMA is an Italian industrial holding company that owns major shares in leading companies in the machine tool sector (Jobs, Sachmann, Rambaudi and Sigma) and in international joint ventures; Green Finance is a holding company operating in the real estate sector.

The know how and experience of IPA Group draws from the long history of Laker, founded in 1964, and then IPA International, set up in 1995. It initially focused its sales activity on Italy and Europe and later on the Maghreb countries, South Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia. IPA and Laker machines have been delivered to more than 20 countries. IPA International has built complete hollow brick manufacturing plants in Italy and in Algeria, where it has also built two roof tile manufacturing plants. In Russia it has supplied two complete plants, one for clinker and the other for bricks. In Greece, at Ke.B.E. (Nea Santa, Kilkis), it has built two hi-tech low-consumption kilns (width more than 9 metres, length over 180 m) to fire 2,000 t/day of hollow bricks and 70 million roof tiles/year.

In the short term, IPA Group intends to strengthen its commercial position in those regions where it is already present (particularly Russia and Algeria), while in the long term it aims to establish a significant presence in the remaining BRIC countries (Brazil, India and China).