The Mapei Group – parent company of Mapei SpA and the U.S. subsidiary Mapei Corporation has become a sponsor of the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015. Mapei participated in this innovative project by providing the best solutions and sustainable responses to the various issues that have arisen in the construction of the pavilion.
"Mapei Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the USA Pavilion," said Luigi Di Geso, president and CEO of Mapei Americas. "This World Fair underscores the vital importance of having plentiful food for all the people on our planet. Mapei fully supports the efforts of nations to work together in order to feed the world. "
"The USA Pavilion is a unique building of its kind,” said Charlie K. Faas, CEO of Friends of the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015. “It is a multi-floor structure characterized by open spaces, transparency and accessibility. It evokes the lines of the traditional American barn. Guiding visitors through a series of stimulating spaces, paths and exhibitions, the USA Pavilion is an experience of ‘edutainment’ developed to entertain and inform. Each element of the pavilion tells tales and stories about innovation, technology, variety and ingenious Americans. It communicates the story, intense and diverse, of our national agriculture. This is why the support of an international company like Mapei, engaged in a continuous process of innovation in materials and solutions for the construction industry, is important to us.”
In the early 1980s, Mapei’s expansion in the United States was initiated by current Mapei Group CEO Giorgio Squinzi. Nick Di Tempora, the past CEO and current Chairman of the Board for Mapei Corporation, built the first plant in Tempe, Arizona, in 1983. Over the past 30-plus years, Mapei Corporation has grown exponentially, multiplying its sales first under the guidance of Di Tempora, and then from 2013 under the leadership of Di Geso. In the United States, Mapei Corporation is committed to becoming a leading manufacturer of mortars and grouts for tile and stone plus adhesives and finishing products for wood, carpet and resilients. In recent years, the company has also started providing systems for the restoration of concrete as well as products for structural strengthening. In 2015, Mapei also has begun offering protective coatings for the construction and infrastructure markets. The addition of two new production sites for concrete admixtures in 2014 supported the company’s goal to grow further in this arena.
This past December, the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy awarded Mapei the Transatlantic Award for the acquisition of General Resource Technology, Inc. (GRT). At the time, Mapei Group CEO Giorgio Squinzi said, "We were very pleased to have been able to add GRT to the Mapei family. I want to emphasize that, with this acquisition, Mapei has achieved another milestone in its presence in the Americas. This investment will make Mapei Group a major player in the market for concrete admixtures.
“Mapei Corporation is a fundamental part of the Group’s international business, and the strategic opportunities that the U.S. market can offer Mapei are reflected in the work being done by the company’s research and development teams,” Squinzi continued. To underscore Mapei Corporation’s role, he stated, “Mapei Group revenues in 2014 were 2.3 billion euros, and U.S. sales contributed approximately 400 million to that total.”
The head of Mapei Group’s Global Development and member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce, Veronica Squinzi added, "We are extremely proud of the presence we have enjoyed in the U.S. for many years. For us, the American market is a constant source of business development opportunities; and one of our main goals is to continue to grow by strengthening our presence in the United States. In addition, our presence in almost every country in the world makes us an international group, but we are more than that. Mapei is global. We are a company that depends on internationalization for the overall development of the Group, but we also develop strong ties with the area in which each subsidiary is located in order to be close to the needs of our customers and the local markets. We feel that we are Italian in Italy, American in America and so on for each country where we operate."
In the United States, the Mapei Group operates through Mapei Corporation with its eight manufacturing plants, its headquarters in Deerfield Beach (Florida), two research and development laboratories, and the second brand, North American Adhesives, that is dedicated to tile adhesives. Other U.S. subsidiaries include GRT, with two U.S. production facilities; and Polyglass USA, which produces bituminous membranes and protective coatings. Polyglass has three manufacturing facilities, an R&D laboratory and a Deerfield Beach headquarters. Polyglass recently acquired KM Coating, known for its production of protective coatings, with plant located in the southwestern United States. Another Mapei Group subsidiary, Vinavil Americas Corporation, which is responsible for the production of vinyl acetate resins, is also headquartered in Deerfield Beach and has one North American manufacturing plant.
As an environmentally aware manufacturer, Mapei Group was pleased to sponsor the USA pavilion, which was designed by American architect James Biber and was built according to an environmentally sustainable and responsible strategy. Mapei is proud that it could contribute to the pavilion’s construction thanks to the company’s wide range of highly qualified products.
Mapei Corporation has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council since 2001. Mapei Americas is a registered provider to the American Institute of Architects’ Continuing Education System program and also offers training related to ceramic, natural stone, the flooring and concrete repair through the Mapei Technical Institute. The majority of Mapei Americas facilities are certified under the ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS), and the Environmental Management System (EMS) of ISO 14001 is now being implemented in American facilities.
Mapei Corporation, in conjunction with Mapei Group, pays particular attention to the sports world. The company sponsored a driver in NASCAR auto races for several years. In 2015, Mapei is once again a Main Event Partner in the UCI World Road Cycling Championships, which will be held in Richmond, Virginia.
As part of its passion for sports, Mapei contributes its cutting-edge products and technologies to the construction of indoor and outdoor sports venues around the world. In recent decades, this work has included products for the installation of swimming pools, running tracks and the general infrastructures at Olympic Games and major sporting events worldwide. Starting with the Montreal Olympics in 1979 to the present day, Mapei has had a strong presence in the construction of Olympic venues in North America – including the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 and the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.
In addition to sports, Mapei Corporation shares Mapei Group’s passion for art and culture. In 2007, the company coordinated the American tour of the Symphonica Toscanini, conducted by Lorin Maazel, to celebrate the great maestro Arturo Toscanini who, even 50 years after his death, continues to inspire the performance of great Italian music worldwide. In 2014, Mapei Corporation sponsored the recent Fantasies of Verdi operas that the Cameristi della Scala chamber orchestra performed in Boston, Providence, Washington, New York and Miami. These cultural initiatives are in line with the special relationship that exists between Mapei Group and great music, as further evidenced by the fact that Mapei has been a Permanent Founder of Teatro alla Scala in Milan since 2008.
Mapei also sponsored the renovation of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The company supplied all of the restoration products, as well as providing products and support for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.
Founded in Milan in 1937, Mapei built its strategy on the three guidelines of expertise, research and development, and internationalization. Today, Mapei is the world’s largest producer of adhesives and complementary products for installing floors and walls of all kinds. The company also specializes in such chemical products for the construction industry as waterproofing products, special mortars and admixtures for concrete, and products for the restoration of historic buildings. Currently, Mapei operations include 69 subsidiaries with 65 production facilities in operation in 31 countries on five continents. Mapei generated revenues of 2.3 billion euros in 2014, and it employs more than 7,500 people globally.
The Mapei Group headquarters are based in Milan. This location houses the central R&D laboratory as well as coordinating offices for the 18 laboratories distributed in different countries. The flagship production facility is located on the outskirts of Milan in Robbiano di Mediglia.
