ExpoElevador Brasil 2016

Latin America’s only elevator expo draws a record 5,000.

The sixth edition of ExpoElevador Brasil, the Brazilian elevator show and only elevator exhibition in Latin America, took place on July 13-14 in São Paulo. The new venue was the Anhembi Exhibition Center that was visited by 5,000 people interested in appreciating the products presented by 100 exhibitors. ExpoElevador showed that entrepreneurs’ reliance on the Brazilian economy is starting to increase again, so, even though this feeling is very difficult to evaluate, perhaps the worst pessimistic period has been overcome.

Brazilian independent companies competed with several international component manufacturers established in the country. The Chinese presence was also important. Multinationals — except the Wittur Group that recently opened new premises in Brazil —  do not participate in these expos, as they are mostly dedicated to components.

There were no complete elevator installations in motion, but innovative push-button stations and cabs, modern gearless machines, high-tech electronic devices, a wide variety of automatic doors, and lifts for the disabled attracted visitors. Most were Brazilians, but, otherwise, the Latin American presence was quite scarce.

Agents of Interlift, the Germany-based exhibition, were present, with a couple of exhibitors also from that country. As regards associations, there were two Argentinean entities, in addition to the Brazilian ones.

The trade press was represented by the local Revista Elevador Brasil, with a booth, as well as ELEVATOR WORLD Latin America — Subir & Bajar, which distributed many issues. The Argentine Revista del Ascensor was also present. These publications will surely help inform about the existence of this exhibition in a huge area that needs events of this sort.

Organizers qualified the turnout as “a record.” A satisfied Edilberto Almeida, responsible for the event as director of Cardozo Almeida Eventos and Editora World Press, walked around the floor. When asked for his opinion about the results, he exclaimed:

“‘Crisis’? What crisis? We have had no negative perception. The exhibition was a full house both days. We realized that the event helped the exhibitors to enlarge their commercial contacts, to strengthen their brands and to build up relationships for future commercial transactions.”

Opinion inquiries indicated exhibitors were quite satisfied with the results — so much so that the organizer has been encouraged to start planning the next Latin American elevator show in 2018.

Argentine Presence

Companies in the Argentine vertical-transportation industry play an important role at ExpoElevador because of the geographic proximity and attraction of Brazil, not only commercially, but also socially.

Cámara de Ascensores y Afines (CAA) and its magazine Subir & Bajar, focused on its association with ELEVATOR WORLD Latin America, occupied two separate booths for the sixth time. This year, the increase in the number of visitors interested in getting a free subscription to the magazine was evident. CAA had the opportunity to inform visitors about its activities through brochures containing its members’ listings, together with a description of its activities in the sector. Some CAA members participated with a booth of their own.

The Argentine Fundación ExportAr, which fosters the export of Argentine products, was present with a group of 11 elevator component manufacturers and their association, CAFAC. They were located in a maxi booth bearing the name of the country. Romina Querzoty, responsible for export promotion, said, “Argentina takes part in 180 annual shows in different countries. In Brazil, the focus is placed on relation strengthening to facilitate joint work.”

To celebrate the presence of so many colleagues, Argentine General Consul in São Paulo Diego Malpede and Attaché General Consul Valdo Amadeo Palmai offered a cocktail and toast to the happy encounter and success of so many entrepreneurs.

Lectures

Max Santos, a member of the Sindicato (Association) de Elevadores del Estado de San Pablo, explained how the associations work to strengthen their associates and how they are represented at the federal, state and municipal levels. Another lecture delivered by Nilton Costa Da Silva of the Sindicato de Elevadores del Estado de Río de Janeiro referred to the importance of professional capacities in the elevator production chain. Another member of this association, Fernando Tupinamba, spoke about the entity in the present situation of elevator manufacture, installation and maintenance.