Beltservice to distribute Movex products in U.S.

ST. LOUIS—Beltservice Corp. has partnered with Movex S.p.A. to distribute Movex products in the U.S. and Canada, including modular belting, plastic and steel conveying chains, and conveyor components.

Beltservice, which is a fabricator of custom conveyor belting based in St. Louis, will promote, support and expand Movex products in the U.S. and Canada. Beltservice only sells to distributors, developing a kind of wholesaler model, Beltservice President Ken Engelsmann said.

"We had heard that Movex was an Italian company that had established a presence in the U.S. and was looking for a distribution partner," he said. "They felt we would be a good fit for them to get their products out to a broad base of distributors."

Beltservice will include Movex products with its distributors and original equipment manufacturer partners, as well as provide service and technical experience. Movex products will be kept in inventory at 10 facilities, with locations on the East and West Coasts, in Texas, and in Canada and Mexico. The products will be supported by a staff of 24 direct sales representatives, product and technical specialists, and customer service staff. As the partnership develops and Beltservice gets a better sense of U.S. demand, inventory will be shifted to the most efficient locations to fit individual markets, Engelsmann said.

Movex, which was founded by Sergio Marsetti, is located in Telgate, Italy, and specializes in the beverage market. It distributes its products globally, including locations in China, Brazil and Mexico.

Talks began in January 2017, and the partnership was official in June, Engelsmann said.

"It came together very quickly because I think we both found in the other what we'd been looking for," he said. "We'd been looking for someone who really knew that market, and the chain market, and guiding rails and everything. They were looking for someone to plug into here that would give them access and a sales force."

Before the partnership was created, Movex had established a presence in the U.S. through a facility in Lynchburg, Va., to begin to build beverage industry relationships stateside, Engelsmann said.

Beltservice currently is training its sales force on the Movex products, he said.

"Getting these products is certainly an exciting thing for Beltservice," Engelsmann said. "We're very much in full force behind seeing this partnership be a success, and it is a high quality product done by Movex."