Dubai – The Brazilians who participated in the Big 5, a construction industry fair which closed this Thursday (28th) in Dubai, have given a positive assessment of the four-day-long event. The fair led to deals closed and firm expectations; potential customers will receive samples and quotations in coming weeks.
The porcellanite manufacturing company Itagres, for instance, received an order from Kuwait on Tuesday and closed new sales deals to Dubai this Thursday, under the brands Itagres and Porcellanati, another line made by the company that had not been sold to the Middle East yet. “We are hoping to close sales ranging from US$ 100,000 to US$ 500,000,” says Ronaldo Castro, the company’s Import and Export manager, regarding future deals the company may strike as a result of the fair.
Abdulla Rahman, the assistant sales manager for the sinks and basins company Tramontina, said the fair “was very good, better than last year.” The executive says the company’s stand had lots of visitors. “We are expecting to close deals with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar,” he says.
Valdinei da Rocha, from the paint company Universo Tintas, says he is in talks with a distributor from Algeria. According to him, an Arab client is interested in purchasing spackling paste in valve stepped end bags. The simpler packaging, he says, makes the product 30% cheaper than the traditionally packed variety. “The fair is fantastic,” he said. The company is leaving the Big 5 with four other sales deals under negotiation with buyers from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, plus another 70 contacts from 22 different countries.
Maxwell Viquietti Alcântara, the CEO of ornamental stone company Pettrus, explains that the company has had a distributor in Dubai since August this year, and that negotiations are underway for two orders placed at the fair. The orders are being taken care of by the company’s representative in the emirate. “We are very much interested in this market,” he said. This was Pettrus’ second year at the event, and according to Alcântara there are plans of attending in 2014 as well.
Dylan Goes, the export manager for the PVC manufacturing company BCF, says he will pay a visit to the manufacturing plant of a potential customer on Saturday. The customer is interested in buying and reselling accordion doors. Goes is also in talks with an Egyptian customer he met at the fair. The importer owns seven stores and wants to import accordion dividers for hospitals. “We have had a great reception, and we made lots of contacts,” said the executive. This was the company’s first time at the Big 5.
Fernanda Manara, the projects manager for the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), points out the positive assessments she got from Brazilian companies. “It is important for the companies to be in the fair and to follow up with their clients, especially the Arab ones, as they ascribe great value to this relationship,” she says. “Brazil already has a very strong brand at the fair, due to the fact that it has attending for several years,” she says. “We are likely to bring more companies next time,” she says.
To Michel Alaby, the CEO of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, “there is no question that the fair has been positive.” The Brazilian pavilion at the Big was organized through a partnership between the Arab Brazilian Chamber and Apex. “The participating Brazilian companies have sensed the potential [for sales to the region], and the Expo 2020 renews our hopes for further deals,” he says. Dubai has been selected to host the World Universal Exhibition in 2020.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
