Zapa paints its Scania trucks to live up a grey world
“A concrete mixer truck need not be merely a grey, metallic object that defaces its environment.” Peter MarkPeter Markulinec, director for the district of Bohemia, Zapa Beton
Brightly painted vehicles and buildings have become a trademark of ZAPA, one of the Czech Republic’s largest producers of concrete.
If a herd of brightly coloured animals passes you on the highway, don’t be alarmed. It’s probably just another painted ZAPA beton a.s. mixer truck out to make an impression. The innovative company has been decorating its vehicles with original designs for years.
It all started in 1993 when ZAPA’s owner Jiří Pavlica wanted to change the dull, industrial appearance of his concrete plant. He met a young artist, Jan Rada, who was happy to take on the challenge. After discussing various designs, the two settled on bringing the plant “to life”. Arms, a nose, ears and a hat were fitted onto the industrial plant, and soon the inspirational refurbishment project extended to other company operations – and to the company’s many vehicles. The cooperation with Rada continues to this day.
“Our intention was not only to distinguish ourselves from the competition,” says Peter Markulinec, ZAPA’s director for the district of Bohemia, “but also to show that a concrete plant or mixer truck need not be merely a grey, metallic object that defaces its environment. And I think we’ve succeeded in that.”
Peter Markulinec, director for the district of Bohemia, Zapa Beton.
ZAPA’s conspicuous vehicles have helped promote the company within the concrete industry. In addition they have increased awareness of ZAPA among the general public. They are hard to miss, involving such things as a “Native American-inspired” convoy, a fairytale tableau with a floating moon on a mixer truck, or a towing unit adorned with rock stars.
You can see a collection of pictures of ZAPA’s mixer trucks and industrial facilities on the company’s website, www.zapa.cz.
Quite often, the vehicles are painted to fit a local attraction or theme. “On the road you may encounter brightly coloured mixer trucks resembling the entire animal realm – from penguins, snails, cats and dogs to even a mammoth,” Markulinec says. “The mammoth is on a mixer truck in Přerov, where an archaeological site from the era of mammoth hunters is located close to our concrete plant.”
In the beginning, standard paints and brushes were used on the vehicles. “When we began we obviously didn’t have a great deal of experience,” Markulinec remarks. “Over time we improved this both in terms of the paints we used and the painting technique. At one time we also used foil coatings, but now, airbrushing is by far the most commonly used technique on the vehicles.”
Drivers Pavel Dvorak and Michal Kapalin are proud of their company’s spectacularly airbrushed trucks.
In 1998, ZAPA began to address cost reduction in transport and after reviewing a number of Western European manufacturers, it selected Scania vehicles.
“In the selection proceedings Scania came out as the best choice,” Markulinec says. “Scania vehicles provide us with the best ratio of purchase costs, operating costs and fuel consumption. In addition, Scania in the Czech Republic has its own service network and is therefore able to guarantee appropriate quality of all maintenance required. I’m pleased to say that we’re still a satisfied customer to this day.”
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Scania Images at Flickr
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