São Paulo – The Sharjah Roads & Transport Authority (SRTA) representatives are in Brazil for a technical visit to the Brazilian Marcopolo bus body factory. About three months ago, the manufacturer sold 22 buses to Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. The Volvo-chassis fleet will be used for lines crossing between different cities. SRTA purchased the vehicles through Al Futtaim Auto & Machinery Company (Famco), representing Marcopolo in the UAE and Qatar. Pictured above, (left to right) David Sawiras and Ramez Hamdan from Famco; Chohfi, president of the ABCC; and Alshamsi, CEO of SRTA.
This is the third time SRTA purchases from Marcopolo. The Emirati nine-member delegation in Brazil will visit the company’s factory in Caxias do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Before, they passed through São Paulo and visited, on Tuesday morning (30), the headquarters of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).
From the SRTA came six representatives, including CEO Abdelaziz Mohamed Rashid Aljarwan Alshamsi; two from Famco, with general manager Ramez Hamdan; and from Marcopolo, the commercial manager of the company in Dubai, Maichel Mensch.
“We are happy about the visit and came to see the factory. Marcopolo offers great quality, and we look forward to continuing the partnership,” said Alshamsi. About five years ago, the companies purchased 20 buses from the Brazilian manufacturer. The Sharjah authority’s fleet also has buses by other brands from Germany and China.
Famco is part of the Al-Futtaim group, a sizeable Dubai-based conglomerate representing several international companies, including Marcopolo. “We have been Marcopolo’s exclusive representatives since 1989 for the UAE and Qatar. We provide road transport buses for SRTA. Marcopolo has had stable growth in the region; they have reliable and good quality products,” Ramez Hamda told ANBA.
Marcopolo has been selling buses to the UAE since 1982. The Brazilian multinational company accounts for almost half of national bus production and is the biggest body manufacturer in Latin America and the third-largest worldwide.
At the ABCC, the delegation was received by president Osmar Chohfi, secretary-general & CEO Tamer Mansour, Institutional Relations director Fernanda Baltazar, and Institutional Relations analyst Elaine Prates.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
