The Buyer’s Project at Fimma Brasil, the International Fair for Machines, Raw Materials and Accessories for the Furniture Industry, held last week in Bento Gonçalves, confirmed that not only Brazil's furniture industry but also its suppliers, are a benchmark for quality in Latin America. Furniture manufacturers from other countries have been investing heavily in Brazilian technology - from machinery to hardware.

The business meetings between 50 importers of machinery and other inputs and Brazilian companies  had the support of Sindmóveis Bento Gonçalves and Apex-Brasil, through the Orchestra Brasil, a project that encourages exports. Approximately 1,200 meetings were held, resulting in US$ 3.3 million in transactions. Good prospects for companies such as Crippa Máquinas, which two years ago had no business in the foreign market and, last year, had 18% of its revenue coming directly from exports.

Crippa joined the Orchestra Brasil Project in 2014, after strengthening its presence in the domestic market and identifying the opportunity for new business in Latin America. Its sales supervisor, Alexandre Pastrolin, says that the geographical proximity and easy adaptation to the language drove the company's export plans to nearby countries, facilitating issues such as technical assistance and sale of spare parts. "Currently Crippa’s key markets include Colombia and Bolivia, in addition to some business in the European market. Last year, we exported approximately one million dollars," says Pastrolin.

Bolivia has seen a lot of investment from Indara in the best technology that Brazilian companies can offer. For the past two years, for example, it has adopted UV paint lines. During the business meetings held at the Buyer’s Project, the company, which is already a customer of Crippa, aimed to double its plant capacity, which currently produces 20,000 pieces/month importing 95% of the materials from Brazil. What surprised during the meetings was the attractive price of machinery that automates the separation of hardware kits. "It was our first participation in the business meetings and I had planned to invest approximately half a million dollars to expand our production," says Indara CEO, Rafael Choque Castro.

The Orchestra Brasil Project has been carried out since 2006 promoting the competitive inclusion of suppliers to the woodworking sector in the international market. To achieve this goal it promotes market research, missions to prospect markets, individual actions, Buyer’s Projects, Commercial Missions and Image Projects, in addition to taking part in major world trade fairs. The next international trade fair that member companies will take part will be Interzum, from May 16 - 19, in Cologne, Germany.