by: Julián Arcila
Clear improvement in Brazilian industry
São Paulo saw, between September 18 and 21, the 15th version of Febrava, the imposing Brazilian fair that every two years serves as a commercial showcase for local visitors to know first-hand the new advances in the CVAC / R sector that are brought to this market by the most recognized world manufacturers, but it also makes it easier for the large group of South American visitors to find out what Brazil is offering in terms of cold.
As happened two years ago, the 2007 edition was characterized by a large application space in which visitors could observe the different technologies of air conditioning, indoor air quality, refrigeration and automation, among others, in real application scenarios such as cold rooms, process rooms and commercial cooling spaces.
In general, the 2007 edition, held as usual at the Immunity Convention Center, had in its last two days the busiest days. There were 548 exhibitors from 22 countries and 26,708 visitors were received, 494 of them foreigners, from 37 countries. Nearly 1000 new new product launches were presented at the fair.
Multi-possibility market
Although the Brazilian economy is not one of those that has reported the highest gdp growth in recent years, the truth is that it is a fairly robust economy compared to the others in South America, and even with some in the rest of the planet. The above, added to a strong industrial vocation of this nation, has facilitated the evolution and constant improvement of the refrigeration and air conditioning segment.
AC/R LATINOAMÉRICA visited Febrava and obtained important data on the reality that the Brazilian market is currently offering for those looking to do business related to the CVAC/R.
One of the elements in which the exhibitors consulted by this means agreed was that the current movement that is presented by the local economy is favoring the demand for refrigeration systems. Of these, Massimo Hartsarich, sales director for the Americas of EBM Papst, manufacturer of industrial ventilation systems, commented: "One of the positive aspects of the Brazilian market is that a large number of applications that we see here, thanks to the economy, require cooling systems. We see significant beef and fish production in Brazil, and the cooling systems used in those segments require ventilators."
André Corotti, representative of commercial engineering of Thermokey, a company that is part of the Italian manufacturer Refcomp and that acts as a subsidiary of the Europeans for South America, spoke about the same qualities of the local market; "The Brazilian market is very competitive in terms of refrigeration. It is a country that, like Europe, also has its hot spots and there are many possibilities for application; no doubt Brazil is on its way to being a world power, but unfortunately, for the moment, politics interferes a lot in business," he noted.
A concern that has been mitigated
In each of the Latin American markets where this medium has made a presence, it has questioned the exhibitors about the condition in which the knowledge of independent technicians is located, since it is undoubtedly one of the elements that most concern within the industry, since it has economic implications (cost of the operation of the systems) and environmental.
From the various conversations that AC/R had with Brazilian companies, a clear trend emerged and that is that training in this country is in many cases limited to what the main manufacturers do with their technicians, but that in the independent segment, although it has been improved, there are still aspects to improve.
In the group of those who believed that there is a lack of more professionalism in the segment was Marcelo Marx, administrative director of Deltafrío, manufacturer of forced air evaporators for cold rooms and refrigerated transport systems, who said that the search is a difficult task, even for companies that at any given time need technical personnel to fill a job; "There is a growth in terms of the offer of courses and seminars, but it is still insufficient to accompany the growth of the sector," he said.
However, among the optimists is Heliel Morales, a professional with vast experience in the industry and in the Latin market, and who is now the sales manager for Latin America of Extech, a company dedicated to the manufacture of different instruments for the CVAC / R segment, commented that the knowledge of the staff dedicated to technical work in Latin America has been growing, but he stressed that companies have a high responsibility in this segment, both in terms of training and the supply of equipment and tools.
The price is still decisive
Every time a company wants to do business in Latin America it must worry about the sale price of its equipment, because this is still a region quite sensitive to this factor. For many experts, this is part of a youth in the market, which has not yet generated the awareness that prices directly represent the qualities and technical characteristics of a team. Now, according to comments from companies that have done business in Brazil, a situation that further complicates things is the high prices that foreign companies must pay the government to import technology, as this is a nation with high protection from local industry.
However, it seems that the Brazilian market has responded well at least for companies in that country, according to Erivan Piazera, global market manager of Embraco, a compressor manufacturer. In his opinion, the price is a consequence of the representation of value that a technology has in front of its potential customers; assured that a company that has a good technical performance will be able to count on a price that is backed by those same operating qualities, and noted that this has been the case of Embraco, so they have not been very affected by sensitivities of this type.
But, on another shore, Hartsarich, of EBM Papst, said that for companies that have to import technology, customs in Brazil become a great inconvenience (this is reflected in the offer prices to the public), but he noted that this is a factor that must be overcome in order for foreign companies to grow and position themselves in the market.
Thus ended a new version of this, the most important show in South America and one of the two most important in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. Concerns remain and the clear thing is that work will have to be done to achieve a more mature industry and an economy with better logistical conditions for business. The important thing, however, is that the CVAC/R industry is growing and this is a good symptom to think about in the future.
