Alexandre Rocha*
alexandre.rocha@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Nitriflex, a Brazilian maker of synthetic rubbers, recently closed a sale of 50 tonnes of products with a client in Egypt. The US$ 100,000 deal was closed after the company participated in a trade mission to North Africa, which took place between the end of May and early June this year. The delegation, organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), visited Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.
Apart from that, a distributor selected by the company during the trip is presenting orders from the United Arab Emirates. "The distributor is Egyptian, but he has contacts in the Emirates," said Márcio Lario, the export manager at Nitriflex, to ANBA. "We are analysing possibilities," he added.
To Tunisia, Lario sent samples of polyester resins to a producer of bathtubs. The resins are produced by Cromitec, a company in the Brampac group, of which Nitriflex is also a member. This month he is also awaiting an answer from a customer to start supplying material.
In Morocco, Lario named a distributor he had been in contact with before the trip for Cromitec. In his evaluation, this should generate new orders for the company.
Lario added that importers in the three countries have already show interest in finished rubber products, raw materials and equipment for the plastic and rubber sectors, products that his company does not produce.
He is forwarding these requests to other Brazilian companies that may supply them, but many have not shown interest. "It is necessary to pay grater attention to this market, to service customers abroad," he said. "As it is a little known market, businessmen here often do not believe what is going on there (in terms of business opportunities)," he added.
Nitriflex has a trade office in Cotia, in greater São Paulo, and factories in Duque de Caxias, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. With 36 years in operation, the company was established through a joint venture between Petrobras and Goodyear, but is currently 100% private.
The organization has 300 employees and annual revenues of around 120 million Brazilian reais (approximately US$ 63 million), with half coming from exports. The company sells to 46 countries, including several Arab nations.
Contact
Nitriflex
Tel: (+55 11) 6886-3360
E-mail: marcio.lario@nitriflex.com.br
Site: www.nitriflex.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
