by: Alejandra García Vélez
Due to the above, the Central Banks of the region have implemented as the main measure to counteract inflation levels, the increase in interest rates, which has meant a strengthening of local currencies against the dollar. Which brings with it advantages and disadvantages, on the one hand exporters are the most affected if it is taken into account that their market is mainly in the United States; however, a strong currency favors foreign capital investment in the region.
Despite the above, in the area of industrial ventilation, the outlook is positive, according to Dirson Báez Melo, International Marketing for Latin America, Greenheck Fan Corporation, the industry grew in 2007 by about 22 percent. According to him, they were definitely Mexico, Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic. While, in his company , the results are also encouraging, with an increase of twelve percent, thanks above all to the implementation of different training programs that allowed them to gain new niches.
Báez affirms that this growth was due to the interest of the companies in investing in the southern hemisphere of the continent and increasing their penetration in this market, so tremendous work was done by the representatives of the companies throughout Latin America. "Quite aggressively they have attacked and covered the market managing to bring down the competition of large and small projects." The Greenheck official said.
For his part, Carlos Ehlers, CEO of OTAM, provides information regarding the market of Brazil, one of the most important emerging economies."We do not have numbers of the industrial ventilation market in Brazil, as it is a market divided by many small and medium-sized companies. The market grows when the country grows by making structural investments. Strong agriculture is a fundamental factor for us." Ehlers said. They are also optimistic about the results that can be achieved this year, as Ehlers indicates that this year has started with good sales."
For his part, Dirson Báez, shows the difficulties that the sector could experience. "Currently some negative impacts are being shown in the ventilation market industry in Latin America and mostly it is due to the negative crisis in the economy that affects the United States today. For this year many companies are reevaluating their projects in order to reduce their costs and perhaps avoid plans for future expansions."
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Some options
If we take into account that the main objective of the devices for industrial ventilation is to neutralize and eliminate the presence of heat, dust, smoke, gases, condensations, odors, etc. in the workplace, which may be harmful or toxic to the health of workers and personnel who live or work in the building. We can understand the importance of the development of other industries and in general of the country's economy, because as the different lines of the economy flourish, the demand for industrial ventilation equipment increases.
Carlos Ehlers illustrates this very well by stating that "the industrial ventilation market grows according to the economy of the countries, as it is always dependent on new investments".
However, companies, manufacturers and distributors, can implement strategies that allow them to strengthen their sales, and increase the number of customers; for example, the implementation of aggressive prices and very good delivery times in ventilation equipment, would be the main expectations to meet for the market this year.
Another important area for manufacturers to explore is to generate initiatives that can meet the growing demand for more "green" equipment. According to Ehlers, in reality the change that is felt in that area is that customers are more often looking for more efficient equipment, which was already offered, but because it was more expensive it was not as attractive. The best example is the sale of centrifugal fans with wing profile blades, which grow much more than those of other less efficient models.
For his part, Dirson Báez believes that manufacturers of ventilation equipment are launching new and innovative products, which contribute to the environment. Well, one of the issues that is monopolizing the market is the attention given to the issue of green buildings, and in general the search for efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. "The industry has equipment that contributes to the consumption of energy operation, such as energy recovery units. This is an example of many that have already been launched in the industry to meet the need of users in that field."
Additionally, the industry must consider its expansion into new market niches, maintaining its traditional customers, but also looking for options that allow it to maintain a constant expansion; Báez mentions, for example, the penetration that fans can have for the extraction of toxics in laboratories, or how products are increasingly requested for the improvement of indoor air quality. In turn, Ehlers recalls that the current trend in the industry is process automation.
