Back to Brazil

Industrias Romi is Brazil’s largest machine tool builder. It highlighted its large-part machining capability at the 2011 Feimafe show with its 130T horizontal boring mill for parts such as wind turbine hubs and Centur 60 CNC turning center suited for oil-field components.

 

I’m heading to Brazil the first week of June to attend the 14th edition of the Feimafe trade show in Sao Paulo, which will be the third time I’ve attended this show. While I do enjoy traveling there, the time change—or lack thereof—still seems odd. After flying for 10 or so hours to Sao Paulo, I lose just one hour heading essentially due South down and across the equator.

In this report about the 2011 show, I noted that the Brazilian machine tool builders say they continue to eye foreign markets such as the United States. At that time, though, Brazil’s strong currency (called real) made it tough for them to compete abroad. However, the Brazilian real has since weakened compared to the U.S. dollar, so that could open up greater export opportunities for them as I intend to find out when I visit.

This slideshow from the 2011 edition gives you an idea of the type of equipment commonly highlighted at the show. The 2013 edition is expected to attract 70,000 attendees and feature 1,300 national and international exhibitors and 85,000 square meters of exhibition area. I’ll report back what I learn in a future blog post.