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MAQUINALIA: A Brand That Aimed High in the World of Industrial Machinery
- 08/04/2025
- What I like
In the professional life of those of us who work in communication and branding, there are projects born from the soul of a great idea, the energy of a solid team, and the excitement of launching something of our own. Maquinalia was one of those projects. An e-commerce platform for the sale and rental of industrial and agri-food machinery, both new and second-hand, that I developed together with a group of friends with complementary profiles: technical, commercial, and creative.
It was a personal project, but with a clear professional ambition: to position itself as a reference marketplace for companies along the Mediterranean arc, especially in Murcia and the Valencian Community, which had surplus machinery and didn’t quite know what to do with it.
The Context: When a Good Idea Meets a Real Niche
In sectors like industrial or agri-food machinery, many companies accumulate used equipment that still holds market value but turns into dead space if not moved. These companies often lack the tools or knowledge to showcase their stock in an appealing way—let alone position it online.
Our approach was simple: to create a clear, professional, well-optimized website to attract potential buyers, and offer selling companies a space to publish their equipment without needing to make a large investment. In return, we would earn a commission from each successful sale made through the platform.
The Name: MAQUINALIA, Simple Yet Full of Personality
In any branding project, naming is one of the key decisions. We were looking for something straightforward, descriptive, yet full of character. Something that spoke for itself. And during our brainstorming process, several options emerged, but one stood out for its sound and visual potential: Maquinalia.
The suffix -alia is familiar to those of us who navigate the world of language. It suggests collections or universes—like in “metalalia” or “liberalia.” In this case, Maquinalia sounded like “everything related to machinery,” with a professional yet friendly tone. It hinted at future, technology, and solidity.
There was no need to explain it further. Just hearing or reading “Maquinalia” immediately evoked the sector—with no extra context required.
The Visual Identity: Yellow, White, and Black to Point the Way
We were very clear when choosing the brand colors: we needed something visible, bold, and easy to recognize. We chose a yellow-orange tone for its energy and visibility, white for contrast in the symbol and background, and a strong, professional black for the logotype.
The symbol of MAQUINALIA is a transformed “M”. One of its legs stretches downward, turning into a kind of pointing finger. It’s a simple image with strong visual potential. It points to the product, the solution, the opportunity.
We wanted a brand that worked equally well in digital and printed formats, one that was instantly understood and had that functional, almost industrial design edge—but with a very human character.
The Website: A Design Focused on User Experience
One of the strongest aspects of the project was the design of the online platform. We created a clear structure, a well-defined hierarchy, and an efficient search function. The idea was to allow users to filter by type of machinery, condition (new or used), location, and price—all designed to simplify the browsing and contact process.
The site’s visual design followed the brand identity: clean, functional, with pops of color to highlight calls to action. The navigation was designed to be smooth on both desktop and mobile, knowing that many users would likely access the site from their phones while visiting warehouses, workshops, or trade fairs.
The Reception: Real Interest, Growth Potential
We presented the project to several companies in the sector, both in Murcia and the Valencian Community. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Most acknowledged that the surplus machinery issue was real and that they struggled to manage it effectively.
Some even ran their own numbers and concluded that, with a solid online communication strategy, they could increase their annual sales by 60% to 70%—not bad for a channel they had barely explored.
The Limit: Lack of Involvement
Now comes the less pleasant part of the story. Because not all good ideas reach the finish line. And sometimes, what’s missing isn’t budget, design, or strategy... but genuine involvement from partners or clients.
We delivered the tool, the design, the concept, the brand, the structure… But we needed something very basic: information about available stock. Photos, descriptions, indicative prices—nothing that a person with basic training and motivation couldn’t handle.
For months, we encouraged companies to actively participate. We offered training, templates—we even offered to visit them and help collect the information. But the response was lukewarm. The initial interest faded in the daily grind.
In many cases, fear of change or a lack of digital culture outweighed the project’s potential. And that taught us a valuable lesson: sometimes, for a great brand to work, more than a great idea is needed. It takes courage to truly commit.
When the Brand Is Ready, But the Push Is Missing
Maquinalia remains a brand with great potential. The naming, the identity, the design, the concept—it all fit together. But without content, without movement, without momentum from those who were supposed to fuel the project, the gears couldn’t turn.
Experiences like this aren’t failures—they’re learning moments. We gained insights about the sector, about the clients, and about the challenges of implementing digital solutions in traditional environments. Above all, we reaffirmed a golden truth: communication requires commitment.
As a brand creator, I take pride in having developed a strong, coherent, meaningful identity. And I firmly believe that if Maquinalia ever gets restarted, it already has everything it needs to succeed. It just needs the machinery to get moving.
Tito Estruch
Interim Manager in Communication | Expert in Marketing and Brand Creation