About the co-operative
UNIMA was set up by the two parties who need each other most in this trade and who, until now, could trust each other least: the companies disposing of their equipment, and the traders who give it a second life.
Why we exist
The same uncertainty sat on both sides. The supplier in Europe did not know whether a buyer far away would actually pay; the buyer did not know whether the equipment matched the advertisement. Those two uncertainties held back a trade that suits both: equipment written off here economically runs on elsewhere for another fifteen years.
Nobody joins straight away
Both parties are vetted before they are admitted. Buyers start as Aspirant Lid with a limited number of units; suppliers first deliver one batch under guidance. Those who prove themselves are taken in. The mark can also be withdrawn — which is what makes it worth something.
Without a profit motive
There is no shareholder wanting a return, and we take no margin on the equipment itself: what the buyer pays for a unit goes to the supplier. Our income is the membership fee, a commission per transaction and a stated mark-up on services we buy in.
What we do and do not do
We do not buy in our own name and we are not a middleman. The sale is between the buyer and the supplier. What we do is everything around it: searching the network, having the unit inspected, guiding the negotiation, running the payment through a client account, and arranging the export documents, the road transport and the shipping.
Payment in advance
Payment is made in advance, and there is no way around that — just as you pay for an air ticket before you fly. The difference is that the money sits in a client account and is released only once the documents and the unit check out.
Where we operate
Suppliers are haulage companies, contractors, rental firms and dealers in Europe and North America. Buyers are traders, importers and fleet owners beyond those markets. What is traded: vehicles, vessels and machinery in sixteen main categories.
Questions, or want to get in touch?
Send a message to info@unimaco.org. We reply within two working days and speak Dutch, English and French. More ways to reach us are on Contact.
Head office and Europe office, Amsterdam
+31 20 369 2577
Regional office North America, Vancouver
+1 672 867 1360
Call or message us on WhatsApp, free from any country
+31 20 369 2577