Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – Brazilian companies have started making contacts during the largest construction material fair in the Middle East, the Big 5 Show, which started yesterday (16) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Company Antigua, for example, which makes hand-painted ceramic tiles, is already about to close its first deal with a distributor in the region.
"They may close an order on Thursday. We are still going to define the volume," stated the Antigua director, Frederico Luis Chrestesen. The company does not yet export to the Arab countries and this is the first time it is going to participate in a fair in the Middle East. "I have already been to various fairs and the business is normally closed afterwards, but it looks like it will be different here. This has never happened to me," he said.
According to Chrestesen, a distributor from Dubai showed interest in the Antigua plain and decorative tiles, which are made artistically, in the city of Araras, in the interior of the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo. According to him, the price of the product pleased the distributor. "The plain tiles cost the same as those from other countries, like Spain, but the decorative ones are cheaper in comparison to those from other countries, due to the lower cost of Brazilian labour," he said.
In general, the first day of the fair was considered positive for Brazilian exporters. "I, who have never participated, found it very good. I liked it because the visitors appreciate the value of our product, which is hand painted," stated Chrestesen.
Apart from Antigua, the Brazilian stand, organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, counts on the presence of companies Soprano, a maker of metals and hydraulic equipment, Braminas, of granite blocks and plates, GA Pedras, of quartzite and slate, Esul, of doors and windows, and Docol, of metal fixtures. The Brazilian Association for Dimension Stones Industry (Abirochas) is also represented at the fair.
To businessman Mauro Cláudio, a partner at Esul, which makes wooden doors and windows, the first day of the fair generated good contacts. He met businessmen from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece. "The perspectives are very good," he said. According to him, the Arabs are mostly interested in the company solid-wood doors. "Solid wood is our differential," added Cláudio, explaining that the company already exports to Italy, the United States and Argentina, among others.
According to the operations coordinator at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Rodrigo Solano, who is accompanying the businessmen in Dubai, the fair has brought together 2,000 exhibitors from 55 countries. "The great presence of foreigners at the fair shows the importance of the region to foreign trade in the construction sector," he said. He added that competition is tough, as other developing countries like China, Taiwan and Thailand, among others, also have strong presence at the fair.
Visits
The largest construction material distributor in the United Arab Emirates, Ace Hardware, is going to open one more unit in the country and has shown interest in including in its product mix items like doors, floors and ceramic tiles imported from Brazil. The interest was shown by the Ace Hardware sales manager, Ajit Arora, during a visit by some members of the Brazilian delegation to the company on Monday (14).
Ace Hardware is a North American company, established in Chicago over 75 years ago, and is present in 68 countries. In total, there are over 24,000 products, among them paints, tools, garden furniture, equipment and car parts, among others. Apart from Dubai, the company has stores in Sharjah and Ajman, in the United Arab Emirates, and in Doha, Qatar.
According to Solano, the Brazilian businessmen said they would send catalogues and information about the products to the company. The Brazilians also visited Salahudin Street, a main construction material shopping street in Dubai, the Burj Al Arab hotel, the most famous in Dubai, and construction projects in the Jumeirah region. According to Solano, the objective of the visits was to learn about the local distribution channels, to verify the prices and the quality of products sold and the competition.
*Translated by Mark Ament
