“Egypt is one of the biggest markets for us” – Brazil’s Nitro at Middle East Coatings Show in Cairo

PPCJ caught up with Mauricio Gentile, General Sales Manager for Nitro, after he delivered his company presentation at the Middle East Coatings Show in Cairo.

Founded in 1940, Nitro (formerly Nitro Quimica) quickly became the largest 100% Brazilian-based chemical company. Since then, the company has expanded both internationally and in terms of products. Nitro now has offices in Vienna and Austria and has operations in the USA and Uruguay. Since 2018, the company has expanded its product line to include a line of adhesives for flexible packaging lamination and an ATBC plasticiser. The company has also entered the Agro sector with the acquisition of MCM Química Industrial, one of the largest copper and zinc sulphate manufacturers in the country, and with the participation in Fast Agro, a company specialised in plant physiology and nutrition. In addition, it has made large investments in the development of sulphur-based products for the agricultural segment.

How is the show going for you?

It’s a positive surprise, because we have seen a lot of clients – not only from the Egyptian market where we mainly know the clients, but there are also many other clients from Tunis, from Lebanon, Algeria, some more clients from North Africa. Honestly, we were a bit concerned how many clients would be present here and so far it’s very busy, very good.

Is Egypt an important market for you?

Yes, indeed. I would say that in the Middle East North Africa region, Egypt is one of the biggest markets for us. It’s a market still with many local factories and local companies – you don’t see the presence of multinationals, so it is quite important to us.

You mentioned in your presentation the recent issues with shipping throughout the world – do you think that has cleared up now?

I would say that it’s 100% back to normal. There are no more issues on shipments… everything that was stopped or blocked before, now everything is back.

How important do you find face-to-face meetings?

I’m in Sales, so it means a lot. Especially in the Middle East market, because it’s not only face-to-face, here it depends a lot on relationships. It’s completely different whenever we deal with a client on Teams or a Zoom call. When you come here, you can visit a client’s factory and go for lunch or dinner; you strengthen the relationship. It’s very important – as the culture says: “you are my brother, you are my friend.” Whenever you deal online, you don’t get such relationships and people don’t like to buy from strangers.

For more information about the show, visit: www.middleeastcoatingsshow.com