São Paulo – Brazilian businessman Abdala Jamil Abdala inherited from his father, Jamil Abdala, a Syrian immigrant, the spirit of sharing and helping those close to him. And it was this way that Abdala grew from a producer to an exhibitor, assembler and president of Francal Feiras, one of the main exhibition organisers in Latin America. "In my family we always helped each other and this profile was of great use while facing the day to day business," said the businessman.
Born in the city of Franca, located 400 kilometres away from São Paulo, where there is a large Arab community, Abdala tells that it was there that his father opened his first material shop and a pasta factory. Apart from that, Abdala’s father, as was the case with most Arab immigrants, also worked as a travelling salesmen around the farms of the neighbouring cities of Itirapuã and Ribeirão Corrente, where he established his roots and married Amélia Calixto Abdala, now aged 98.
At 18 years of age, Abdala left his city and moved to São Paulo, where he studied engineering at the Industrial Engineering University (FEI). It was then that doors started opening. Even before finishing his studies, Abdala started working in the electronics and export area at Ford, which at the time imported products for the assembly of radios, electronic ignition and auto pilots for later export to the United States. In seven years at the company, the engineer climbed to the position of superintendent of Quality and Production. "I was one of the first Brazilians to occupy positions that used to belong to Americans. In the Production superintendency, I was the first replacement," he said, adding that he worked at Ford from 1972 to 1979.
In the early 1980s, Abdala returned to Franca, where he started managing Calçados Pestalozzi, a factory whose income was turned to education of impoverished children. It was in the 1990s, as the company director, that Abdala was invited to become a board member at Francal, at the time an organisation connected to the Franca city hall, responsible for promotion of the local shoe industry. According to Abdala, due to transportation and the lack of hotel infrastructure, it was decided to promote a fair in São Paulo. Francal was then privatised and gained a new address and a new president: Abdala Jamil Abdala.
The fair, which has reached its 41st edition, has become a national and international reference in the shoe, fashion accessories, machinery and component industries. Promoted once a year, the last edition of the event brought together 1,000 exhibitors and another 50,000 visitors. The success of the event caused the Francal team to start being called to manage other events in different sectors, like shoes, stationery, musical instruments, books, food and architecture, among others. In the period, Abdala also climbed to the presidency of Estrutural, a company responsible for the assembly of events. However, in 2000 he once again took over the presidency at Francal Feiras and has been to the position to date.
"We now promote fairs with the same mentality as Francal. We produce to promote markets and generate business for visitors and buyers, not just for exhibitors, but to contribute to the development of the country, generating jobs and business," said Abdala. "We have this heritage from the crib. I am working to help in the expansion of shoe production, generation of jobs and greater sales," he added.
Eyeing the Arab market, Abdala travelled to the Emirates, late last year, to promote Brazil. "I went to Dubai to bring importers to our fairs and to further business possibilities with the Arab countries," he said. According to him, the shoe sector is among those with greatest potential for attraction of this market. "They are not commodities and everybody wears them. Apart from that, the sector exports very much," he added.
Another sector mentioned by Abdala was the fruit sector, which should also be better promoted on the Arab market. In fact, this week, Francal Feiras promoted, in partnership with the Brazilian Fruit Institute (Ibraf), the release of Fruit & Log, a fair to take place in September. "This is the moment for Brazilian businessmen to return to their origins and become travelling salesmen, but not in markets to which we already sell, but to open new markets," he said. "Travelling is not only taking the product. It is also saying good things about the country and promoting it," he added.
With over 20 years experience in promotion of fairs and with great optimism, Abdala believes that the future of investment is in Brazil. "We have a fantastic country," he said, adding that his father already thought so, and even travelled to Syria, where he spent several months, always returning to Brazil.
According to him, there are many positive factors for investment in Brazil. Fertile land, large areas, an excellent climate, a wonderful coast and no earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural phenomena. "Brazil is the new land, the new world," he said. And furthermore, with this optimism and good humour, Abdala does not stop listening to Arab music, which, according to him, brings good memories of the time he lived with his parents.
*Translated by Mark Ament
