Brasília – In the next two years, Brazil’s aeronautics and aerospace industries will count on extra backing to promote business, products and services overseas. An agreement signed this Thursday (17th) by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) and Centre for Competitiveness and Innovation in São Paulo’s East Cone Area (Cecompi) should increase companies’ participation in major international fairs and events.
The agreement renews the partnership between the two organizations under the Brazilian Aerospace Cluster project, with 45 participating companies. Brazil’s aerospace industry park is the fourth largest in the world, comprising approximately 100 enterprises. According to Cecompi executive director Marcelo Sáfadi Alvares, the industry is also strategic from a geopolitical standpoint, since Brazilian technology is a landmark in South America.
Thus, the agreement should further solidify Brazil’s image as a hub for technology, and sophisticated products and services for the industry. “When we started working, we had two or three exporters; now we have 15 product exporters and 18 service exporters, with US$ 120 million in combined revenues,” said Alvares. He believes the Brazilian aerospace industry requires improvement in several aspects, but is competitive at the international level.
The agreement is expected to lead to a 30%¨increase in export volume and a 50% increase in number of exporting companies. “We also plan on implementing an intelligence backbone. We want to know whether we are growing at a higher or a lower rate than the international market, and in the latter case, we want to know why. Then we can understand and voice our opinion regarding the country’s actions, and thus strengthen our industry more and more.”
The project exists since 2012 and used to focus primarily on companies in the São José dos Campos area, a major industry hub in the state of São Paulo that concentrates leading companies, as noted by Apex-Brasil manager Maurício Manfré. “It has been a good pilot project. Cecompi brings industry knowledge and the Apex brings technology and know-how in creating business opportunities.”
The project’s new phase also includes enterprises from the states of Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio de Janeiro, all of which are developing important aeronautics and aerospace industry hubs.
“We have determined which sectors offer big opportunities at global events, at the leading industry fairs. Over the next two years, we will be at fairs in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, at events combining both industries, aerospace and aeronautics,” said Manfré. In October, the group will take part in Airtec, in Frankfurt, Germany.
Apex-Brasil is a private organization linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade and supports close to 80 sectors of the economy via overseas promotion. The signing of the agreement was attended by authorities and research institution delegates from the states involved, as well as industry organizations and enterprises.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
