São Paulo – Four Arab countries are using food quality control technology by Brazilian company Brapenta. Based in the city of São Paulo, Brapenta makes machinery that detects metal and controls the weight of foods. In the Arab world, Syria, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria have already purchased the equipment, according to the company’s director general, Martín Izarra. Brapenta has been exporting for roughly 18 years, and sells to 30 different countries.
According to Izarra, sales to the Arabs began five years ago. The Syrian and Egyptian sugar industries use machinery by the São Paulo-based company in metal detection. In Morocco and Algeria, the equipment used is a sort of combo that both detects metals in the food and controls package weight. In the latter two countries, the machinery are being used in pasta manufacturing companies for noodle production.
Izarra explains that in Brazil the vast majority of food manufacturing companies have machinery for detecting the presence of metals. The purpose is quality control and preventing ferrous or non-ferrous metals from ending up in consumers’ mouths. The equipment is also used by other industries, such as the pharmaceutical and chemical ones, and Brapenta manufactures other machinery, such as metal detectors for security that are used at banks, but the main focus is on foods.
The director general claims that he has keen interest in the Arab world, but claims that he has not invested in the region’s market yet. The intention is to do so over the next four years, considering that the company’s goal is to have exports account for 40% of revenues. Presently, they account for 10%, according to the director general. “This is why we intend to enter friendly countries,” claims Izarra. Currently, most of the sales to the Arabs are made by means of Brapenta’s representative in South Africa.
Overall, Brapenta’s exports have already increased by 30% this year. According to Martín, the increase was due to the brand’s growth in the international market, and also because of the work of the company’s representatives. He also says that Brazil is becoming known as a supplier of machinery, and that contributes for sales to grow. Brapenta has begun exporting to regions such as the United States and the Mercosur.
The company makes 600 machines per year. Part of that total is produced at the company’s plant, which has 60 employees, and some of the work is outsourced. According to Izarra, Brapenta has maintained the same number of employees since it was founded, and outsources production whenever business grows. The idea is to concentrate the unit’s activities on business intelligence and research and development.
The company was established by Izarra, an Argentinean-born, Brazilian-naturalized electronic engineer. Brapenta is renowned for its work in technological innovation and has won important awards in the segment, such as the 2003 Finep Innovation Award. Its equipment are used by leading enterprises in Brazil, such as Nestlé, Cargill, Parmalat, Açúcar Guarani, among others.
Contact:
Brapenta
Site: www.brapenta.com.br
Telefone: (+55 11) 5641 3410
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
