Kolberg-Pioneer, Inc. (KPI-JCI) Welcomes Colombian Visitors, Expects Increase in Market

Kolberg-Pioneer, Inc. (KPI-JCI) recently welcomed customers from two Colombian companies to its factory, a visit which the company's International Sales Coordinator says reflects the steady growth and promising future in the Colombian aggregate processing market.

The customers, who included Jose Alebrto Sanchez and Fredy Sanchez of Transportes Sanchez, and Diego Ibarbo and Oscar Salamanca from Mincivil, were visiting the factory to purchase equipment and receive parts for already-owned KPI-JCI equipment. They traveled with Stiven Angle of Rylsa, a KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens authorized dealer, and Fernando Marroquin of Astec Aggregate & Mining Group.

Bruce Viau, international sales coordinator for Kolberg-Pioneer, Inc. (KPI-JCI), said the company has experienced steady growth in the Colombian aggregate processing market since 1992, when it held a 3-day seminar for contractors, government employees and dealer personnel on then-current aggregate processing and washing practices in Bogota.

"Since that time, KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens, as well as the rest of the Astec Industries, Inc. companies, has expanded its dealer organization and market penetration with multi-million dollars of goods sold to our valued Colombian customers," Viau said.

With the passage of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) on May 15, 2012, which makes more than 80 percent of U.S. industrial goods exports to Colombia duty-free, Viau expects an even stronger relationship between KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens and its Colombian customers.

"As Colombia has become a safer destination for business travel, the pace of construction has stepped up and infrastructure is now being built with great emphasis on road construction," Viau said. "The new trade promotion agreement levels the competitive field for our goods, allowing us to compete with our high-quality, American-made goods. It's also good for users in Colombia, because it is more financially-feasible to seek out equipment from American manufacturers."