São Paulo – The Arab executives are present once again at Hospitalar, the leading healthcare industry show in Latin America, which opened on Tuesday (16) at Expo Center Norte, São Paulo. Up until Friday (19), Egypt’s Pharmaplast Lebanon’s Plastilab are showcasing their products and looking to strike deals with clients in Brazil and Latin America, in line with their expansion plans for the region.
Specializing in wound protection items such as adhesive bandages, adhesive foams, and antiseptic gels, Pharmaplast, based in Alexandria, Egypt, has joined the expo for the 12th straight time. “I have been to each and every edition since 2005,” business development manager Mamdouh Atteia told ANBA hours after Hospitalar began.
He believes that being at the trade show is very important in order to relate to buyers and provide in-depth explanations of how to use the products. “We do not export commodities: these are technical products that require some degree of comprehension,” he explains. According to Atteia, it was after its first time at Hospitalar that Pharmaplast began selling to Brazil. “Now we have major clients were, importers and distributors,” he says.
The Egyptian company’s goal is to increase its presence in Brazil, despite a few issues – especially import taxes, according to Atteia. More than that, Pharmaplast is looking to reach low-income consumers: “We also have a social responsibility, of offering our products, whose prices are lower than those of the United States and Europe, to people who can’t afford a product made by a multinational corporation,” he explains.
Plastilab, of Beirut, Lebanon, began selling to Brazil in September of last year. Since then, it has shipped an average of two to three containers’ worth of items including gauze, test tubes, urine and semen collectors per month to distributors in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais and in Curitiba, Paraná.
“They sell to laboratories and hospitals in every region of Brazil,” says Plastilab’s export manager Ibrahim Ballout. “Our goal is to increase sales. Brazil is one of our main markets for the next two or three years.”
The company, which ships product to over 80 countries around the world, sees Brazil as the gateway to Latin America. By being at Hospitalar for the first time ever, it also aims to meet clients from other Latin American countries. “We wish to show that Arab-made goods can compete with long-established manufacturers in Europe and the United States. We offer good quality and competitive prices,” he explains.
Ballout arrived in Brazil on Sunday (14) and attended other meetings apart from Hospitalar. HE will be in São Paulo the entire week – this is his second time in the country: last January he travelled to Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. “Several Brazilians went to Lebanon to see our plant as well,” he says.
Featuring over 1,000 exhibitors, Hospitalar should welcome over 90,000 visitors from 70-plus countries over its four days. A forum is held in the sidelines, with lectures and discussions covering several aspects of the healthcare industry.
Quick facts
Hospitalar – International Fair of Products, Equipment, Services and Technology for Hospitals, Laboratories, Pharmacies and Clinics
May 16 to 19, 11 am to 8 pm
Expo Center Norte, São Paulo
Find out more: http://www.hospitalar.com/pt/
Pharmaplast
http://www.pharmaplast-online.com
Plastilab
http://www.plastilab-lb.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
