São Paulo – Soprano, a maker of metals and hydraulic equipment from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, is going to open a distribution centre in Hamryia, a Free Zone in Dubai, within the next two months. The company hopes to multiply sales to the Arab market and win new clients in the Middle East. The opening of the centre should also help Soprano reach its target and increase exports by 20% this year.
"It is a recent market that is growing. It is not yet very representative (within Soprano exports), but the idea is to make it into an important market," stated the foreign market coordinator at the company, Gustavo Boff. According to him, Soprano started exporting regularly to the Arab market three years ago and products made by the company from the state of Rio Grande do Sul are now exported to Jordan, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Lebanon.
According to Boff, the lines of hydraulic equipment and electric material are the ones that are sold most to the Arabs, and the company recently also started exporting its lines of hardware, like locks with fingerprint reading systems. "The Arab market has a potential for all of our lines of products," said the coordinator.
To win the Arabs, Soprano has always been present in the main fairs in the Middle East, like the Big 5, in the building sector, in Dubai, and Damascus International Fair, in Syria. This year, the company is going to participate in the Big 5 once again. "With the distribution centre in Dubai, we are going to be closer to the market," stated Boff.
Currently, around 10% of Soprano production is turned to the foreign market. The products are sold to 20 countries in the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Up to yesterday (20), the company was participating in Luanda International Fair, in Angola, where it also plans to expand its business.
The company
Soprano, which is based in the city of Farroupilha, in Rio Grande do Sul, also has factories in Pernambuco and Mato Grosso. Established over 50 years ago, the company has eight lines of products: accessories for furniture, components for the metal fixture industry, hydraulic equipment, film, resin and metals, electric material, special products for carmakers and highway and railway transporters, civil construction and household appliances and products for mills.
Contact
Telephone: (+55 54) 2109-6000
Site: www.soprano.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
