The new company will be dedicated to serving the Aftermarket worldwide – except for the North American region, which Berco of America will cover – and is 100% owned by Berco.
As a spin-off of the existing business, Berco Aftermarket will focus on providing excellent replacement parts services to take customer satisfaction to the next level.
"We are in the midst of exciting times at Berco, and our new Aftermarket company is a prime milestone of our future path," says Piero Bruno, CEO of Berco. "Our famous Original Equipment hallmarks of high quality and performance in the field are about to be transferred to the replacement parts industry. This, in turn, will be beneficial to our whole worldwide dealer network."
The creation of this new organisation is a prudent step forward for the Berco Group and will strengthen the Aftermarket activities to contribute to the Group's development strategy. Its success will be based on increased flexibility in production and product life-cycle management, which will ultimately strengthen Berco in being a proactive player in the replacement parts sector. "By extending our already leading support for our Aftermarket customers, we will also increase customer satisfaction and, as a consequence, sales growth within the Group," adds Bruno.
The new company will place an even greater emphasis on product availability, with customer service situated at the very centre of its supply chain concept. The new concept will increase efficiency in the replacement business and put an even stronger emphasis on collaboration with the company's dealer network in real-time.
At the same time, Berco Aftermarket plans a significant extension of its current product portfolio – far beyond the existing Service Line – to include additional undercarriage-related components. On the other hand, the company's high-quality product range for the mining industry – the Platinum Line – will continue to grow to supply customers in this traditionally strong Berco segment.
Berco Aftermarket will partner with Gruber Logistics, a transport company with expertise in moving heavy loads and special cargo worldwide. To further facilitate easier accessibility and the serving of customer requests, the new company will run its warehouse at Interporto in Bologna. The warehouse will provide 700 Stock Keeping Units (SKU) with a minimum stock level of more than 6,000 tonnes across 12,000m2.
Diego Buffoni, Managing Director of Berco Aftermarket, said: "By providing an extensive product portfolio and a world-class service to our customers, Berco Aftermarket has the goal of becoming the market's leading company when it comes to replacement parts. As a result, we expect a 50 per cent growth within the next few years thanks to our unique dealer network."
The new organisation is located close to Copparo, where Berco was founded and currently holds its main factory. While the Copparo facility will continue to be the main source of the company's renowned Original Equipment production and R&D facilities, Bologna provides Berco Aftermarket with the perfect location to thrive in the replacement parts business. Indeed, the region has a long heritage in the manufacturing of undercarriages and will give Berco access to important resources and talents.
The new Aftermarket-dedicated warehouse in Bologna will serve as a buffer between the world's largest undercarriage plant (Copparo) and the company's dealers, who require flexibility and short lead times when purchasing from Berco's extensive product range. This will ensure that purchase deliveries to our customers' premises will be sped up significantly – which is crucial for the Aftermarket demands and the recently launched E-commerce business. Both will benefit from the new stock availability. Berco Aftermarket is headed by Diego Buffoni and will be serving its partners from its Bologna facilities. It will begin operations in October, in line with the beginning of its parent company's new financial year.
