São Paulo – Cecrisa, a ceramic tile manufacturing company based in the state of Santa Catarina, wants to conquer new clients in the Arab countries. It already sells to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the latter two of which are the company’s main clients in the region.
According to Rodolfo Vitor Jacobsen, Cecrisa’s export manager, 5% to 10% of the company’s foreign sales go to Arab countries. The products sold to these countries are porcelain stoneware tiles of the Portinari brand, which has higher added value.
“We are now a company that exports more added value and less volume. We supply clients who want differentiated quality and design,” explains the executive. “They [the Arabs] prefer more sophisticated products, with luxury European-style design,” he finishes off.
Exports to the Arabs are made via a representative who operates in the region and by a trader who is constantly visiting that market. Jacobsen reports that the international financial crisis and the economic problems faced by Dubai have influenced the company’s exports to the region, but he believes that sales should show significant recovery in 2011.
“We are prospecting for new clients, but not necessarily new countries, because we already sell to the markets in the region that are open to ceramics imports,” he says.
Cecrisa exports to over 60 different countries. its leading market is Latin America, especially Argentina, and the company also ships its products to countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Australia.
Cecrisa is based in the city of Criciúma. The company has five industrial plants and 2,200 employees, and its monthly production is roughly 2.3 million square metres of ceramics. In 2009, the company posted 608 million reals (US$ 347 million) in revenues.
Contact
Cecrisa
Tel.: +55 48 3431-6171
E-mail: rvj@cecrisa.com.br
Site: www.cecrisa.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
