São Paulo – Headquartered in the city of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, in the state of Espírito Santo, a traditional maker of ornamental stones, Pedra Rio has been exporting to the Arab countries for five years and wants to expand its sales in the region.
Through a Lebanese representative who lives in Brazil, the company has already shipped stone and granite to Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with the two latter being the main clients among the Arabs.
The company has dedicated 30% of its production to foreign sales, having the United States as its main foreign client. In 2009, Pedra Rio sold between four and five 25 tonne containers a month to the Arab market.
Rodrigo Bourguignon, the commercial manager at Pedra Rio, said that some adjustment is still necessary for exports to the Arabs to grow, but there is “much interest” in greater sales to the Middle East. “We always have that in mind,” he said.
“It is a market with which we may negotiate a kind of material that others do not accept,” said Bourguignon. He explains that the Arabs buy classic granite, different from what the Americans buy, as they prefer the exotic, with higher added value. According to the manager, purchases from the Arabs are for use in large constructions.
Pedra Rio was established in 1999, and produces granite plates from its own mines located in the north and South of Espírito Santo state. The company employs around 40 people.
Contact
Pedra Rio
E-mail: pedrario@pedrario.com.br
Site: www.pedrario.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
