Green Worldwide Shipping is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Trade Channel. Sign up here for monthly global trade updates.
Connect Solutions is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Brazil Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Brazil newsletters.
January’s International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta led to more than $25 million in sales for Brazilian machinery and equipment manufacturers that joined a government-led program aimed at boosting their exports in the U.S. and beyond.
As Global Atlanta reported, an array of Brazilian agencies held a joint seminar showcasing Brazilian machinery during an evening of what’s known colloquially as the “poultry show.”
Combined, Brazilian firms signed $16.2 million in export deals during the event, while $9.2 million were expected to close throughout the remainder of the year, according to a press release from the Brazilian Machinery Solutions program. End markets included Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the U.S.
The BMS is a joint initiative between ABIMAQ, the industry group representing 8,000 Brazilian machinery producers employing about 400,000 people, and Apex-Brasil, the country’s export promotion agency.
The seminar included presentations from both agencies, as well as from ABIMAQ members attending the show, such as Farenzena, Fornari, HighTech, Ibraflex, Lenke, Plasmetal, Tecmaes, Torfresma, Usitec Triel and Vantec.
In a showcase of firms that preceded a panel featuring experienced voices advising firms on setting up U.S. operations, a few of the Brazilian firms voiced interest in using Atlanta as their conduit to the U.S.
ApexBrasil’s Fernando Spohr, the Miami-based representative, said setting up an entity here and localizing the operation would be keys to success for Brazilian firms selling in the American market.
“That’s the way they do business here in the U.S. Of course, they like to do business with Brazil, but having an operation here, having a presence here, it’s going to make the whole process much easier.”
Already, Brazilian Machinery Solutions members like Schulz America Inc. have found success in metro Atlanta. Founded in the state of Santa Catarina, the manufacturer of compressors has operated in metro Atlanta since 1999 and in 2020 opened a new headquarters and distribution facility in Acworth after posting record sales.
The Consulate General of Brazil in Atlanta and its trade. promotion section SECOM have long promoted Brazilian participation in major industry shows in Atlanta, and Consul General Luis Claudio Santos was credited at the seminar for renewing that push and bringing the machinery makers together again.