Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – The furniture made by Brazilian company Mac Design is exhibited in six houses in a housing project in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The condominium is part of The National Housing Project, by real estate developer Emaar Properties, from Dubai. The project will have 10,000 houses, and will receive investment of US$ 2.7 billion.
According to the president of Mac Design, Márcio Assunção Cecílio, the idea is to furnish the largest possible number of homes with company furniture. "The furniture is already being exhibited in the houses, and we are now waiting to see if we will get new orders," he said. In total, 26 items, among chairs, sofas, armchairs and tables for external environments are decorating the houses in Dubai. Up to the end of the year, 5,000 houses should be ready.
The project developed by the Arab company is part of a housing program for citizens of the United Arab Emirates that was developed by Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the Emirates. The houses will be divided into three condominiums, each with a different style of architecture: Arab, Islamic and modern.
Mac Design does not yet export to the Arab world and the first contact with importers from the region was made at the last edition of the Index, the largest furniture fair in the Middle East, which took place in November 2006, in Dubai. In fact, the furniture made by the company and exhibited in the Emaar project is the same as the furniture that was at the company stand.
The southeastern Brazilian organization also made contacts with Arab furniture and accessory importers at the Brazilian Contemporary Furniture & Home Décor Exhibition (Abimad 2007), which ended on Monday (12) in São Paulo. A group of seven buyers from Arab countries participated in the fair.
Apart from the exhibition of furniture in Dubai, Mac Design is also negotiating with other buyers from the Emirates, but no order has yet been closed. Based in the city of Uberaba, and established in 1980, the company produces 3,500 items a month and exports 30% of its production to the United States, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. The company employs 180 people and has 14 shops in Brazil.
Varieties
Mac Design has over 30 models of furniture. Each line has its own characteristics, but most of the furniture is made out of synthetic fibre and cumaru wood, also known as Brazilian teak. Currently, the furniture made by the company is included in the scenery of reality show Big Brother Brazil.
Mac Design
Tel. (+55 19) 3258-9137
Site: www.macdesign.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
