Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – Brazilian company Braminas, a maker of granites, has been exporting to Palestine for almost 20 years. The Arab country is one of the main importers of Red Bragança Granite, a red stone found in the city of Bragança Paulista, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, produced by the company.
Braminas has ten quarries of its own for extraction of different kinds of granite, located in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Each one has an average production capacity of 150 cubic metres a month. Palestine alone imports 40% of the company Red Bragança granite. "We export all kinds of granite, but the Red Bragança is the company cash cow," stated Lenice Aparecida Gargaglione, of the company export department.
According to her, the success of the red granite in the Arab country is due to the fact that it is exclusively Brazilian. "There is no similar product in any area of the world," stated Lenice. According to her, Arab importers buy on average 200 containers per year, which corresponds to around 5,000 square metres of stone plates. "Apart from our representative distributing in Palestine, we also export to other Arab countries," she said.
Currently, Braminas exports to around ten countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Mercosur. "Exports depend very much on the orders, but we export an average of 10 containers a month," stated Lenice. She believes that the Arab countries have potential to import the company granites. "The construction sector in the region is expanding greatly, and that is why we are sure we may enter new markets," she added.
So as to reach new markets in the Arab countries, the company is going to participate in the Big 5 Show, the largest construction sector fair in the Middle East, in November, to take place between the 16th and 20th, in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. This is the first time that the company is going to participate in a fair in the Arab countries.
Over 30 years
Braminas is responsible, apart from the extraction and processing of granite, for the production of sinks, floors, skirting boards and doorsills. Established in 1973, in the city of Bragança Paulista, the company has 40 employees.
The company veins produce 10 kinds of granites, each one of a different colour. The colours are blue, brown, red, pink, golden, green, yellow, white, black and grey.
Braminas
Telephone: (+55 11) 4035-2900
Fax: (+55 11) 4035-3122
Site: www.braminas.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
