If you know us, you will already know that we deal with two macro product categories: tire and conveyor belts. The first one counts four lines: production and distribution of tools for tire retreading, for tire service centers, curing bladder for new tires, and distribution of industrial tires. The second one offers a selection of accessories and equipment for conveyor belt maintenance and repair. Up to now, we have barely talked about it (our bad), and mainly in our post about the Bauma exhibition (if you have not yet read it, we suggest giving it a try: https://vmrubber.com/en/blog-en/next-stop-munich/). Today, we want to tell you more about our Industrial line and the new collaboration we’ve recently established with the German company Mato GmbH.
Mato manufactures fasteners (but not only ones) to splice and repair conveyors. Founded in 1906 in Offenbach, the company has subsidiaries in every continent.
The mechanical fasteners are used as an alternative to cold and hot splicing. They are quick to install and often preferred by some industries (such as the food one, where they mainly ask for the stainless-steel models). They are also frequently employed to repair ski carpet lifts and airport baggage belts. Mato’s products are also used in safety-related applications to ensure easy and efficient function, such as long conveyor belt systems in underground mines also employed to transport workers.
At the beginning of this summer, we were looking for a new partnership for this kind of item. We contacted the company Conveyor Accessories, with which we have been working for a while as we offer their Heavy-Duty Clamps. We discovered that Mato had recently acquired CAI, and they are now part of their group. Within a few weeks, this fortuitous event got us in touch with the MATO Sales Manager for Italy. After an initial email exchange and some calls, we planned a meeting that followed a training session on the leading fasteners.
On August 10th, we spent the entire morning with Mr. Ralf Ilg, we tried the fasteners and the installation tools, and we got to see the different applications and installation methods. We were able to understand the differences between the products, their purposes, and the tricks to optimize their use. We were pleasantly surprised by Mr. Ralf’s expertise, proficiency, and availability.
The following step was to identify the main items to add to our new industrial catalog (which will be printed very soon and disclosed at Bauma) and to add them to our website (https://vmrubber.com/en/c/conveyor-tools/mechanical-fastening-system/).
We are sure these products and the new partnership will bring added value to our industrial line, integrating and enriching it.