São Paulo – Schioppa, a Brazilian producer of casters and wheels, has already exported to the Arab world and aims to return to the region. According to Vera Bites, export supervisor at the company, the organisation shipped small volumes to Lebanon and Morocco last year and one of the targets is to export to the United Arab Emirates. Since 2008, Schioppa has been participating in the Arab Health, which takes place in Dubai every year. This year’s edition took place in January.
In the Middle East, Schioppa has already sold to Iran and Israel, which are not Arab, at small volumes. Both nations, added to the other countries in the region, however, represent no more than 1% of total company sales. Exports to the Arab world began in 2003, through Beirut, Lebanon. “We are investing in fairs and making contact with some potential importers,” said Bites, regarding the target of selling in the Emirates.
Schioppa makes casters and wheels, for industrial trolleys, displays, hotels, food industry, the medical and hospital sector, airports, the audio-visual sector, furniture, supermarkets and residue collection. They are used in products like forklifts, hand pallet trucks, stretchers, supermarket carts and baggage carts, among others. The company produces 10 million items a year and exports between 10% and 15% of the total. Schioppa supplies 25 countries and its main clients in the international market are in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Paraguay.
Schioppa hopes to increase exports in 2013. “Despite some hardships in the first half, we still believe it is possible to increase foreign sales, as we have important talks in progress, guaranteeing continued supply contracts, with great chance of deal closing,” said Bites. She added that the company has been growing continuously over the last 20 years and that in 2013 it should be no different, both on the domestic and international market.
Schioppa Casters and Wheels was established in 1950 by Mario Schioppa. At the time, a large part of industrialized products in Brazil came from abroad, and the domestic industry was starting to grow. “That was when the need for replacement parts arose,” said Bites. With this, the company released casters and wheels for all areas.
The company factory is in the city of São Paulo, in Ipiranga neighbourhood, and it covers 10,000 square meters. The company also has a distribution centre in the United States, in Wayland, in the state of Michigan, and trades its products at over 4,000 points of sale in Brazil.
Contact:
Schioppa
Site: www.schioppa.com.br
Telephone: (+55 11) 2065-5200
Email: vendas@schioppa.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
