Meiser enters the Balkans region

Inteview to Emanuele Marretta , Head of International Sales on MEISER Strassenausstattung

The German company MEISER STRASSENAUSSTATTUNG GMBH is one of the most famous companies in Europe and around the world involved in the production of road safety systems. Meiser is today the largest manufacturer of steel guardrails in Europe and one of the three largest in the world. Meiser is a member of the RAL manufacturers' association and one of its executive directors currently holds the presidency of this association, which is very important for Macedonia, as road safety standards in this market have always been aligned with the strict German RAL RG-620 standard.

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1. Mr Marretta, since you are new to the Macedonian market, can you tell us about your company and introduce yourself?

-What do you produce?

Our company, Meiser Strassenausstattung, is part of the German MEISER group, which produces various products in different areas such as gratings, scaffolding, vinary posts, metal structures for photovoltaic plants and guard rails. In the metal guard rail business, which together with my colleagues I lead for the international market, we are one of the largest producers in Europe.

In the Guard Rail sector we have an annual sales volume of about EUR 140 million and a permanent stock of raw and finished material of about 13,000 tonnes of steel.

- where is it located?

Our headquarters are located in Schmelz-Limbach, in the Saarland region of Germany, near the western border with France.

-How many plants do you have?

The Group has several plants around the world, but the ones involved in GuardRails production are the three European plants, two of which are in Germany (in Saarland and Brandenburg) and France (in Nogent-Sur-Oise) and the one in Istanbul, Turkey.

In total, we have a guardrail production capacity of more than 200,000 tonnes of steel per year.

Soon we will also open a new production plant in Germany specifically dedicated to our solar division (photovoltaic systems), thereby also increasing our production capacity in the Guard Rail business.

- How many employees do you have?

The Meiser Group has more than 3,500 employees worldwide, 2,300 of them in Germany, with an annual turnover of more than EUR 700 million.

- In which countries do you have plants?

Meiser was founded in 1956 by Edmund Meiser in Schmelz-Limbach/Saarland. We have three main production plants in Germany (soon to become four) and other production plants in Dubai, Hungary, France, Belgium, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Morocco and Turkey, as well as numerous other sales subsidiaries around the world.

-Do you have an ISO quality standard?

All of our products and production facilities meet the highest international standards, from quality (ISO9001) to environment (ISO 50001 and ISO 14001) to health and safety (ISO 45001).

-Based on which standards are your products produced?

Meiser Strassenausstattung's products for road restraint are all tested and certified according to EN1317, which is the current standard for VRS in Europe and we are the company that, probably more than all of our Competitors, has the possibility and authorisation to produce according to different specific standards in different Countries (German RAL, French NF, Belgian Copro, Dutch NEN, ..).

?2. Do you have a representative office in Macedonia??

We do not yet have our own direct presence in Macedonia, but our partner Magnometal is our agent and represents us very well and with great trust on our part. We are working in the near future to strengthen our presence in the Balkan area.

In addition to the production of guardrails, what other products do you produce (e.g. end elements, crush cushions in testing and for photovoltaics....

Meiser Strassenausstattung is the Company in the Group that produces road restraint systems, which means not only steel guardrails. We are also manufacturers of tested terminals, gate opening systems, temporary barriers for work areas and will soon be launching a new range of crash cushions to offer our partners a complete range of products for driver safety.

In addition to road safety, the Meiser Group is one of the world's largest manufacturers of steel gratings.

The production range of the group also includes Profile planking, Staircases, GRP systems, Fall protection mats, Pole system for vineyards, Bands of barrel, Scaffolding and PhotoVoltaic mounting systems.

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3. Since you have presented us with your company's product range, could you tell us where your products are applied in Europe?

Last year we distributed our road safety products in 63 countries worldwide, almost all over Europe, West Africa, South America and the Middle East.

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4. How have your products performed in practice, i.e. do you have any idea how they perform in terms of quality, durability and safety?

As already mentioned, all our products have to meet the highest European standards before they are put on the market.

When we develop and launch a product, we subject each system to full-scale crash tests under severe conditions to verify its performance in the event of an impact. After that, the products are certified by external bodies that monitor production in the factory to ensure consistent quality levels. As a German company, we guarantee the quality of our products not only according to regulatory standards, but also according to German industrial logic, recognised worldwide as being of the Highest Quality.

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5. In the present but also in the future, as a serious company, can you tell us about your strategies for developing new products to improve road safety?

Meiser Strassenausstattung has a product portfolio of 270 different systems, all tested according to EN1317, in different containment levels (N2 to H4b), including also standard RAL-RG620.

We are constantly improving and updating our product range in order to introduce tailor-made products to each international market, because each country has specific requirements in terms of level of protection, which depend mainly on traffic and vehicle conditions.

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6. Are your products used in Macedonia?

We successfully entered the Macedonian market in 2023 and we plan to expand our presence and strengthen our position as market leader in the coming years.

- on which projects and road sections….

On the market in Macedonia, we develop excellent cooperation with all companies that work in the field of road safety and the execution of specific projects. Our guardrails have already been installed on several road routes: Mavrovi Anovi - ?irovnica, Skopje - Blace, Veles - Gradsko and Bitola - Medzhitlija.

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7. What are your experiences considering Macedonia?

It is a lively market and Macedonians are nice people, active, enterprising with the will to evolve.

It is certainly a nation that will make its presence felt in the Balkan area, even if the path is not easy and it will still take time.

So far, we have had respect and clear and pleasant local relations with both the Magnometal staff and all the operators in the sector with whom we have had the opportunity to work. Our idea of business relationships is not only based on prices and products but on the solidity of the relationships we create with our partners based on mutual trust, clarity, respect and mutual interest; in Macedonia we have found people who reflect this idea of ours.

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8. Finally, can you tell us what are your future plans in Macedonia?

Since there is no producer, perhaps you are thinking of developing with us, in order to have a greater impact on the entire region and beyond?

The future we have in mind is definitely to strengthen our presence and make our contribution to the growth of the country and the Balkan area.

A productive presence in the Balkan area is desirable, but before such a decision is made, the right conditions must be developed, which also derive from local political will, the environment, the road sector, and the players in this business. Certainly, in one way or another, Meiser will be a Company with a strong presence in the Balkans.

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