Midan Impex Srl (Romania) invests in a Quadra vibrating press to diversify its concrete product range

Quadra South Africa
1 day ago
6 min read

At a time when manufacturers of precast concrete products are seeking greater flexibility and performance, investing in versatile next-generation equipment is a strategic key lever. With this in mind, Midan Impex Srl recently chose to acquire a Quadra Q12 HP - High Performance production unit, designed for manufacturing a wide variety of pavers, curbs and concrete blocks.

Midan Impex Srl is a Romanian company specialising in the manufacture of concrete products for the construction sector. Founded in July 1996, the company has nearly 30 years of experience in its field. The head office is located in Vlăhița, in Harghita County, in central Romania and at the heart of the Eastern Carpathians in the historic region of Transylvania.

The company’s core business has always been the manufacture of concrete products for the construction sector. Originally, it focused exclusively on the production of blocks used for building walls and fence posts, gate and garden pillars, partitions, retaining walls, foundations for industrial and agricultural buildings, underground cellars and structural walls.

Thanks to its expertise, Midan Impex plays a key role in supplying materials for construction projects in its region. Since its creation, it has established itself as a recognised player that contributes to the local economy in several ways:

Creating jobs for local residents;
Supporting the construction sector, which plays a major role in the economy;
Contributing to the development of local infrastructure.

The company employs around twenty staff. Despite its modest size, it possesses technical expertise and know-how that enable it to be competitive within its sector. Its results demonstrate stable operations and an ability to adapt to changes in the construction market.

Last year, Midan Impex distinguished itself at the regional level by securing first place in the 2025 ranking of companies in Harghita County in the field of manufacturing concrete products for construction. This recognition highlights the company’s strength and competitiveness within its sector.

In 2023, the company was looking for a reliable supplier to support its production diversification project. Quadra, a French manufacturer of equipment for the concrete industry, was selected to supply the entire plant designed around a Q12 HP vibrating press, scheduled for commissioning in July 2025.

A Quadra Q12 High Performance press at the heart of the installation

Quadra Q12 Vibrating Press at Midan Impex Romania — Midan Impex Q12 HP Press

The centrepiece of the line, the Quadra Q12 HP press has been designed to meet the high demands of manufacturing vibro-compacted concrete products such as blocks, pavers and curbs.

This machine is particularly notable for its ability to ensure high dimensional accuracy. Product height is controlled with a tolerance of less than 1 mm across the entire production table, regardless of the formats or heights of the products being manufactured.

The press's design also allows for the production of full-height, high-density products, such as blocks for retaining walls. The entire vibration system has been optimised to transfer maximum energy to the fresh concrete, thereby ensuring effective and uniform compaction.

The press features a high vibration amplitude, ranging from 4 to 5 mm, enabling optimal concrete density.

Another distinctive feature of the Q12 HP press is its patented retractable static bars technology.

During the filling phase, the bars retract automatically to avoid contact with the empty mould. This configuration also allows for an increased vibration amplitude during filling, thereby promoting better distribution of the concrete within the mould cavities. Once filling is complete, the bars return to their original position for the final vibration phase. This design ensures uniform mould filling and high dimensional accuracy of the products.

The final vibration is performed against four mechanical stops, guaranteeing precise and repeatable positioning throughout the production cycle.

The Q12 HP press also integrates an intelligent automatic filling time correction system, adjusting filling duration according to the final vibration time, thereby ensuring a constant concrete density for every block produced.

This automatic control helps to stabilise the manufacturing process and improve the consistency of the finished products, a key criterion for producers of concrete blocks and pavers.

All the press’s movements are driven by frequency-controlled gear motors, optimising precision and reliability whilst minimising mechanical stress.

A face mix concrete unit for the manufacture of premium products

This face mix concrete filling unit integrated into the production line now enables Midan Impex to offer a wide variety of high-quality pavers and curbs in terms of shape, colour, texture and the facing material used.

Equipped with this face mix unit, the manufacturer can now produce two-layer products consisting of a core concrete and a facing concrete, whilst optimising production costs compared to conventional processes.

This equipment is fully remote-controlled. Its movement towards and away from the press is very rapid. The precise operating characteristics ensure that the facing is distributed evenly across the entire surface of the product, resulting in a consistent appearance (thickness) throughout.

Quadra finger car and colour-blended paving stones. — (Left) Colour blended paving stones. (Right) A finger car handles the storage of the products.

An additional surface-finishing roller device at the end of the process smooths the products entirely.

The face mix concrete unit is equipped with a colour blending system for the production of concrete pavers and slabs with subtle, natural effects. The system enables the creation of consistent, controlled colour variations directly during the manufacturing process, resulting in a finish that closely resembles natural stone. The principle is based on the simultaneous feeding of several coloured concrete batches into a specially designed distribution unit. Thanks to an intelligent system of successive layers, the concrete is continuously redistributed within the manufacturing machine. This technology produces natural multicoloured effects and harmonious shades with excellent consistency in the visual finish throughout production. Unlike conventional colouring processes, this one avoids abrupt colour transitions and ensures controlled distribution of pigments across the entire production run.

The resulting products feature rich, natural visual appearances that are particularly sought-after in the premium segments:

shaded pavers,
stone-effect finishes,
flamed or weathered effects,
contemporary blends of mineral tones.

This technology thus enables the manufacturer to stand out from the crowd whilst maintaining high industrial production rates.

A fully automated manufacturing process

The plant is a fully automated production line, controlled from the control cabin by a programmable logic controller (PLC) with a touchscreen operator interface.

This architecture enables intuitive and precise management of the entire manufacturing process. Operators have full control over production parameters, facilitating production changes and optimising output rates.

The wet side conveyors handle the production boards to the elevator, where they are stacked over 20 levels, with 400 mm in between. A finger car carrying 20 boards handles the storage. This equipment saves a significant amount of floor space and provides an efficient curing solution with optimal use of the area. The curing area can accommodate 5,280 usable boards. It is equipped with a ventilated and humidity-controlled system to guarantee rigorous drying and uniform curing and maturing conditions of the products.

The position of the finger car is continuously monitored by a laser sensor, and it is driven by servomotors that ensure precise positioning of the platform in front of the rails of the curing chambers, the elevator and the lowerator.

The walking beam conveyors allow the production boards to be lifted and moved without friction. The handling and transfer of the production boards have been designed and implemented to minimise noise and wear.

This system ensures a continuous and seamlessly synchronised production flow between the various stages of the process.

After the curing phase, the products are handled by a fully automated palletising system comprising a highly stable gantry structure with supports for travel tracks, a servo-motor-driven carriage with a frequency controller, a synchronisation shaft and a gripper equipped with four-side clamping to hold the products and prevent any sticking to the production boards.

Quadra fully automated palletising system. — Fully automated palletising system.

This configuration offers several advantages: precise product handling, high operational reliability and simplified maintenance.

... designed for production flexibility

Thanks to this new manufacturing unit, Midan Impex now has a state-of-the-art production facility that enables it to optimise its output whilst ensuring consistent product quality.

Designed to offer great flexibility, this facility also opens up new opportunities for diversification: in addition to concrete blocks, Midan Impex can now manufacture paving stones, curbs, as well as ranges of technical products with high aesthetic value-added for the outdoor landscaping and landscape architecture markets.

This strategic investment strengthens the company's competitiveness and enables it to respond to developments in the precast concrete markets, where flexibility, quality, differentiation and productivity are key challenges.

Its experience and expertise are assets that will enable it to continue growing in the years to come. Quadra is proud to support this growth and to put its expertise at the service of its client Midan Impex's development strategy.

This comprehensive installation clearly illustrates the French manufacturer’s ability to offer high-performance industrial solutions, combining precision, reliability and production flexibility.

Thanks to its expertise in designing equipment for the concrete industry, Quadra once again confirms its ability to support its clients in modernising and optimising their processes.