Trading company WK, based in the city of Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná, which works with wood products, received an order from a distributor of construction material from Dubai. "It was a good order," said the sales director at the company from Paraná, Igor Kaufeld.
Dividing the space at the stand with him is Damaris Eugênia ívila da Costa, director at trading company Braseco. She received visitors interested in glasses, metal tiles and ceramic tiles. The clients were from the Emirates, Lebanon, and African countries.
Another person who was satisfied with the first day was Diogo Resende, of Atlas, a company from the state of Rio Grande do Sul that manufactures painting equipment. "It was great, the structure of the stand helped, but our placement was essential," he said.
The Brazilian space is located near one of the main entrances to the exhibition pavilion of the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC).
Resende claims to have made good contacts that "are going to turn into actual sales." Most sought products were brushes, and the main interested parties were distributors from the Middle East. "They are interested in quality, in order to add value to their product portfolio," he said.
In tun, the director at Lockwell, a company that makes door handles and locks, Gerson Galeazi, stated that, judging from attendance in the first day, the Big 5 has proved better than other international events that he has participated in. The company has already gone on trade missions to Argentina and Panama. "This fair is by far the one that generates the greatest expectations," he stated.
Galeazi said that some of the visitors became interested in purchasing the sample items. The products that attracted the most attention, according to him, were a new line, featuring details in certified wood, and golden models.
Most of the contacts were made with representatives of construction companies and storeowners, according to Galeazi. He also said that the businessmen seek to secure their supplies, therefore during the fair the executive is going to make contacts in order to appoint a local agent.
In the area of granites, Granibras received visitors who made a point of coming back for further talks. "It was good, we had lots of visits," said the CEO at the company based in the city of São Paulo, Paulo Sérgio Gasparini. He was taken aback by the popularity of items regarded as exotic, such as the Golden Persa, a stone of orange tone with black stripes that is extracted in the state of Bahia.
Granibras is participating in the da Big 5 for the first time and mostly received traders and engineers.
And who is to say that electric showers only exist in Brazil? According to the export manager at Lorenzetti, Renato Nakasubo, there was great interest in the models traditionally manufactured by the company, as they are small and warm up bathing water at a low cost.
"The product is already well internationalized," he said. Most of the visitors were consultants who sell to construction companies. The company wants to make direct sales for the real estate developers, and received people from the Emirates, Iran, Syria, Libya and Angola.
Lorenzetti also brought to the fair its line of bathroom metals, but in that field, according to Nakasubo, competition is fierce.
By the way, competition is going on even within the Brazilian stand. Poly, which also manufactures metals, received heavyweight visitors from Kuwait and Egypt, who were mainly interested in hygienic showers. According to the company representative, Denis Perez Martins, importers should return in the coming days.
The fair opened late in the morning. The inauguration was made by the deputy ruler of Dubai, Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He walked around the pavilion and stopped at several stands, among them that of Brazil, where he was welcomed by the Marketing vice president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Rubens Hannun, the secretary general, Michel Alaby, and directors Bechara Ibrahim and Nahid Chicani.
Maktoum asked how many companies are exhibiting, what their products are, and how many times has Brazil participated in the exhibition. In total, the stand has 37 exhibitors, and this is the sixth time that the country is represented in the Big 5. The space is organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex).
Anba