Dubai – The Big 5 construction industry fair, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has ended this Thursday (20th), but is likely to result in lots of deals for Brazilian companies. Eight enterprises took part in the exhibition, in a pavilion organized in partnership by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
The Brazilian exhibitors commended the location of the country’s stand this year, in the decorative rocks and stones pavilion, and the number of contacts made. In the past few editions, the Brazilian stand had been in an area where visitor traffic was lower. One of the enterprises, ceramic tile manufacturer Ceusa, has already had orders placed by clients.
“We are shipping roughly four containers worth of products as a result of deals made during the fair, and at least another four over the next eight months,” said Ceusa sales executive Tallal Merhi. “I had been to this fair between 2001 and 2005 and it used to be busier. However, those were different times, another market scenario. Now, after the crisis, the industry is recovering,” he said. Although he sold different types of stones at the fair, Merhi said Gulf buyers always go for high-gloss finishes. His stand was visited by representatives from companies based in Oman, Thailand, India and Lebanon, among other countries.
The CEO of exotic stones company Pettrus, Maxwell Alcântara, took part in the fair for the third time, and had potential orders and even a partnership in sight with a Saudi client. His company mines, processes and sells rare stones for decoration.
“The location we had this time around was much more interesting. I have a partnership here in Dubai, which the Arab Chamber helped me find, and I am in talks with this partner for a deal in Saudi Arabia, so we can have an outlet and sell our product there,” he said. At Pettrus’ stand, Alcântara received visitors from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, among others. Pettrus attended the Big 5 for the first time in 2012. The company has been exporting to the region ever since. This year, the company’s stand was the largest in the Brazilian area. Maxwell said in case there is more space available in the next edition, he is interested.
The outlook is also good for Real Esquadrias, which exhibited wooden doors at the Big 5. The company’s export manager, Gustavo Ludwig, said he made over 200 contacts at the event, and they should lead to orders being placed soon. “Some deals are well underway. I will follow up with all of them after the fair,” he said.
The commercial director for granite slab manufacturer Summit International, Eder Wiesling went to the exhibition for the first time and said the event allowed him to learn about a few traits of local buyers. “They asked a lot of questions about whether we could ship the finished, cut-up product. I am used to selling the raw product for clients to cut them the size they want,” he said. He also said most quotation requests were for light-toned yellow and blue stones.
The padlock manufacturer Pado went to the Big 5 for the second time. After its first time, in 2012, the company started selling to a local distributor in the UAE. “We will surely do good business [as a result of the fair]. Our distributor is promoting our brand here in Dubai. He has lots of local contacts, which is really helpful. The stand had lots of visitors and we made several contacts,” said Foreign Trade manager Karli Vieira. The company had quotation requests from companies in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.
A trader for electrical equipment manufacturer Fame, Maria Prado said she was taken by surprise, since she was focusing in African countries and ended up being contacted by potential clients from Gulf countries. “I made over 200 contacts and I believe they can lead to business. This exhibition is worth returning to in years to come because it also allows me to showcase my product, which is new to some local clients,” she said. Fame showcased its electrical shower line at the event.
The Arab Chamber CEO, Michel Alaby, remarked that the move to a new pavilion this year was a positive development, because the companies received more visitors. “All our exhibitors are pleased. We had figured our location would be good, but even still, we were taken aback. I believe the contacts made here will lead to orders being placed soon,” he said.
The international business advisor to Apex-Brasil, Rafael Gratão said the agency was optimistic about the event, and the expectations proved true. “We had a better space this time and this was noticeable in speaking to the exhibitors. I am returning to Brazil with an optimistic outlook, especially for the stones, granite and ceramics industries,” he said. Marble and granite company Marbrasa and ceramic tiles manufacturer Gail were also featured at the Brazilian stand.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
