São Paulo – Deca, the Brazilian kitchenware and sanitaryware maker, is completing its first major project in the Arab world. Apartment complex Shams Meera is set in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, comprising 408 high-end units spanning 63 sqm to 166 sqm each, in two 26-storey towers.
Deca supplied 2,060 pieces of ceramic for bathrooms, including 650 toilet seats and 110 toilet bowls. The contract was secured in July 2017. The items got shipped at the end of the year, and the project is slated for delivery in the first half of this year.
International accounts manager Gabriel de Almeida said the primary market for the company is Latin America, but that, via this project and a distributing company in Dubai (Arteco), Deca is looking to increase its exports to Gulf countries. “We want this project and our distributor in Dubai to be a shop window for neighboring countries, like Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar,” he said.
Almeida said the next step is to build an image for the brand in the Gulf, through branding with local architects and by getting new projects in the UAE, thereby securing a foothold in the high-end niche among competitors from Italy, Germany and Dubai. “We’re giving quotations for new projects in the UAE, but the process takes a long time,” he explained.
Deca supplied material for a model apartment in another proejct by the network that’s building Shams Meera. It hopes to be able to join the project, but Almeida said this is uncertain at this point.
The company
Deca is an arm of Duratex, which is owned by Itaú group’s Holding Itausa. Duratex is a supplier of building industry solutions including wood sheets and flooring (Duratex boards and Durafloor); ceramic and metal sanitaryware and kitchenware, electric showers and valves (Deca Hydra); and ceramic facing (Ceusa).
Deca is the sixth biggest sanitaryware maker in the world, and its color technology is successful around the world. It’s also being well accepted in Arab countries. Available colors include metals in silver, golden, black, golden, pink and champagne, and ceramics in grey, white, black and brown, with gloss and matte finishes.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
