São Paulo – Maitino, a Brazilian maker of ornamental stone, aims to expand its business to the Arab market. The company has already exported to Palestine and Egypt, but the Arabs are not among the main clients. “We sold to them around ten times,” said the company owner, Adonis Maitino Filho. The first export to the region took place in 2008 and the last was last year. The businessman believes, however, that it is possible to increase business, mainly with the sale of ready products.
Maitino produces granite, quartz and slate. The stones are traded in plates or ready for use, for example, in sinks for kitchens or bathrooms. “Brazil is very rich in exotic granite and the Arabs like these products,” said Adonis, regarding the differential Brazilian stone has in terms of colours and design. The businessman is interested in supplying these products, mainly more elaborate ones, to the Arabs.
The company produces between seven and ten containers a month and 80% is shipped to the foreign market. The company’s main international clients are in Japan, Europe, Latin America, the United States and the Caribbean. In the Arab world, Maitino also has contacts in Kuwait and is seeking clients in the United Arab Emirates. Adonis explains that he has never promoted his product in the region and that export contacts are generally through the internet. But, in the near future, the businessman plans to participate in the Big 5, a fair in the building sector in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
Despite being a small company, Maitino has defined the export market as the target for much of its production. “We focus on the activity,” explained Adonis. But the international market has already had a greater weight in company production, 95% in 2010. From then on, with the growth of domestic demand, the participation of exports in total production dropped.
The company has been in operation since 1948 and has 20 employees. Apart from the headquarters in Jaú, in the interior of São Paulo, Maitino has two factories, one in Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, in Espírito Santo, and another in Três Corações, in Minas Gerais. The company does not mine, but buys stone from third parties, processes and finishes it.
Contact
Maitino
Site: www.maitino.com.br
Telephone: (+55 14) 3622-1144
E-mail: maitino@maitino.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
