São Paulo – Fras-le, the auto parts manufacturing company based in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, is planning on increasing its sales to the Middle East and Africa by 40% in three years. To that end, the company opened a distribution centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on June 5th.
Rogério Luiz Ragazzon, the company’s commercial director, explains that currently, sales to the regions amount to US$ 17 million per year, ranging from 15% to 16% of total exports. Since 2005, the company has maintained a commercial office in Dubai.
“Our centre in the Middle East has enabled us to provide better services. As a result, we are expecting growth of 40% by 2017. That would be an additional US$ 6 million from the region,” he says. The bet on growth, he explains, is due to faster services and the possibility of breaking into new markets.
Presently, the main products sold by Fras-le to the Middle East and Africa are brake linings and pads for commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and semitrailers. The main target countries are the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. The executive is planning on entering Oman, Yemen and Tanzania.
The Fras-le distribution is located within the premises of logistics company TNT, in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. “The available area is flexible, it grows on an as-needed basis,” says Ragazzon. “Our initial inventory is worth US$ 300,000,” he claims.
The new centre will be supplied with parts shipped in from Fras-le plants in Brazil and China. “It will receive product from the two plants, because we do not manufacture all (of our parts) in China,” the commercial director explains.
The inventory kept in Dubai should be used for client’s emergency purchases and for small orders. “The prices of parts from the centre will be different, because we will take care of the transport and logistics,” says Ragazzon.
The delivery time for orders from the local centre should decline from 60 to 90 days, which is how long parts shipped from Brazil take to arrive, to approximately 15 days.
Fras-le also owns distribution centres in Argentina and Germany. The company’s plants are located in Brazil, United States and China. The company exports to over 100 countries. Fras-le was founded in 1954, manufactures various friction materials and is a part of conglomerate Randon.
Contact
Fras-le
Tel.: + 55 (54) 3239 1000
Email: export@fras-le.com
Website: www.fras-le.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
