Geovana Pagel*
São Paulo – The Brazilian Film Industry (IBF), based in the city of Rio de Janeiro, has been exporting to the Middle East and North Africa for over 25 years. The main products imported by graphic arts industries in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon are aluminium plates for offset printing, photographic film and chemical products for developing.
IBF offers a line of products for printing plants, like processors, film and special paper, and another line for the medical area, including film for X-ray and mammographies.
"The Arab market is of great importance, especially due to its great potential," stated Milton Fetter, marketing vice-president at IBF. According to him, the forecast for business with the countries in the Middle East and North Africa is extremely promising. "IBF products are very well accepted and the Arab market is more and more open to foreign trade. We may expect annual growth of sales of between 10% and 20%," he estimated.
A pioneer in Brazil in the production o sensitised film, IBF was established in 1961 with a small unit, in the city of Petrópolis, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.
In 1969 they expanded and modernized their installations and equipment, making it possible to develop research turned to technology for production of pre-sensitised plates, developers and fixers for the graphic arts industry. This resulted in new products as from 1973.
Although the Brazilian market was traditionally supplied by large multinational corporations, IBF managed to establish itself due to the quality of its products. In 1975, extending its line of products, the company entered the market of X-Ray film.
In the early months of 1981 the company was already the leader in sales of film and photographic paper for graphic arts. In 1985, at the International Paper and Graphic Industry Trade Fair (Fiepag), IBF presented the global market their first positive double-face plates for offset printing.
"A direct result of the technological development adopted by the company, this new product expressively increased IBF presence in the markets where it operates, consolidating its position as a generator of technology and producer of high-quality products," pointed out Fetter.
Nowadays IBF is a leader in the offset plate market in Brazil and Latin America. It is the fourth largest world producer of offset plates and exports to over 70 countries. The main import regions are the United States and Latin America.
Apart from the IBF head office, in Rio de Janeiro and from the factory, located in a piece of land with an area of 335,000 square metres, in the city of Duque de Caxias, in the same state, the company also has branches in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte (two capitals in southeastern Brazil), Brasília (the country capital), Florianópolis, Curitiba and Porto Alegre (capitals of the three southern Brazilian states), and also a network of representatives and offices covering the whole of the Brazilian territory and over 400 representatives and distributors around the world.
Contact
www.ibf.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
